Heating costs. Is wood really worth it?

[tfdchief]

Andrew,
Its a 20KW electric and 90 000BTU/HR oil combination forced air fournace, automaticaly swhiches from electricity to oil when below -12C*.

I have never heard of that combination around here. That sounds like a good combination. Around here the big thing right now is geothermal.....let the earth heat and cool your house. That, to me, is just amazing technology. Those that have it seem to really like it. I will be interested to see if it catches on.

 

[Swedishchef]

Andrew,
Its a 20KW electric and 90 000BTU/HR oil combination forced air fournace, automaticaly swhiches from electricity to oil when below -12C*.

My in-laws have a similar setup except their furnace is 24KW. Just be careful, at -13 you pay much more per KWh (14-15cents instead of 7). I know that when that famous light is on the furnace thermostat, we try to avoid using the dryer, etc. It normally shuts off in the day though.

 

[Swedishchef]

Andrew,
Its a 20KW electric and 90 000BTU/HR oil combination forced air fournace, automaticaly swhiches from electricity to oil when below -12C*.

I have never heard of that combination around here. That sounds like a good combination. Around here the big thing right now is geothermal.....let the earth heat and cool your house. That, to me, is just amazing technology. Those that have it seem to really like it. I will be interested to see if it catches on.

here is some more info about the dual energy electricity rates for Quebec...quite interesting.
http://www.hydroquebec.com/residential/tarif-residentiel.html

 

[sebois]

From what you guys are saying: if you own a woodlot and have all the equipment available, it is worth it. But what if you spend $250 a cord?

I was questioning the financial aspect alone. Not the moral, happy "let's sit by the fire and melt away", I am sweating my balls off fun winter heat

Andrew

Wood:
$250 x 8 cords = $2,000

Oil:
1,500 gallon x $3.80 = $5,700
1,500 gallon x $4.00 = $6,000

That is still $3,500 - $4,000 cheaper per year than it would be if I was using oil. I purchase all the wood I burn, which is currently $120 per cord. I do not have time to scrounge, and buck, and split (which I did the last two years).

If I was only interested in the "let's sit by the fire and melt away" I would only have one stove. I am more interested in the "not paying an insane amount to heat my home."

This post nails it for me. While I enjoy stacking and burning and the unique heat, these days it's all about savings. I'm currently paying about $250/cord, buying 4-5 cords and supplementing with 1-2 that I cut/split myself. We keep the house at 75F all winter; with oil at $3.69/gallon and a 7-month winter it's a no-brainer.

 

[Swedishchef]

I am glad it is financially feasible for most people.

For me, I love heating with wood and plan on continuing to do so. However, financially it is not the best move, especially since I buy wood at 250 a cord and have the cheapest electricity rates in North America.

From what I have read so far, it also looks like I am one of few members on this forum who has a new house. I wish I had an older one..they are built to last, look much nicer , have warmer charm and have much more style. New houses look like leggo kits...ugh

ANdrew

 

[Poult]

I will never give up my wood. There's nothing like cutting wood on a nice fall day. And for those who live in Quebec and lived through the Freezing Rain storm of 1998 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_ice_storm_of_1998) a wood stove is essential in life along with food and water.

Andrew

You ain't just a kiddin'! I was without grid electricity for 20 days, and before I was loaned an Air Force generator during the aftermath of that storm, I was using my 12K generator that couldn't run the milk pump and the bulk tank compressor at the same time, let alone keep the house on, too. And with an oil furnace I needed the electric in the house to run the furnace. That storm alone made me determined to start using wood again, at least to have for back up heat when it got down to 48ºF in the house. It took me ten years before I got it in, but I went immediately to full time heating with wood, and the oil furnace is only started up once a month to keep the burner nozzle from getting any corrosion on it. I love, love, love my wood heat. I love the independence of it, and I love cooking on it, and I love looking at it, and I love having to go out in the cold to bring in wood even when I don't feel like it because I know I need the exercise! And my dogs love going out the door to get wood, too, because that's an extra outing for them! LOL!

I have relatively cheap electric at night and during the shoulder seasons of the year, due to having been a dairy farmer and using quite a lot of electricity yearly when the power companies started going to "time of use" pricing. But even at that, I want my wood heat.

Poult

 

[VCBurner]

I saved a ton of money heating with wood. The ice storm of '08 left a couple cords on my doorstep. Used stoves kept the cost down. You can even find good deals on new stoves like the Englander nc30 HD was giving away last year for about 600 bucks. I was able to keep the temperature in my house above 70 f for the past two years with wood heat. Scrounging wood becomes second nature. Lots of people give away wood, it is too hard to burn wood for most people. I could not imagine trying to heat a house all winter long to 70f with electric! Even in a lower priced area. Wood isn't for everyone though. I just moved and will now switch to pellets. Rental property has no chimney so I sold my four wood stoves. I will miss it.

 

[raybonz]

I will never give up my wood. There's nothing like cutting wood on a nice fall day. And for those who live in Quebec and lived through the Freezing Rain storm of 1998 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_ice_storm_of_1998) a wood stove is essential in life along with food and water.

Andrew

You ain't just a kiddin'! I was without grid electricity for 20 days, and before I was loaned an Air Force generator during the aftermath of that storm, I was using my 12K generator that couldn't run the milk pump and the bulk tank compressor at the same time, let alone keep the house on, too. And with an oil furnace I needed the electric in the house to run the furnace. That storm alone made me determined to start using wood again, at least to have for back up heat when it got down to 48ºF in the house. It took me ten years before I got it in, but I went immediately to full time heating with wood, and the oil furnace is only started up once a month to keep the burner nozzle from getting any corrosion on it. I love, love, love my wood heat. I love the independence of it, and I love cooking on it, and I love looking at it, and I love having to go out in the cold to bring in wood even when I don't feel like it because I know I need the exercise! And my dogs love going out the door to get wood, too, because that's an extra outing for them! LOL!

I have relatively cheap electric at night and during the shoulder seasons of the year, due to having been a dairy farmer and using quite a lot of electricity yearly when the power companies started going to "time of use" pricing. But even at that, I want my wood heat.

Poult

Amen you said it all! I have had a wood stove for over 20 yrs. and stopped burning for about 5 yrs. then I got laid off and need oil at $4.02 a gallon!! Needless to say up on the roof I went and cleaned the chimney and bought a cord of seasoned Oak (yes really seasoned from a coworker that covered it for 2 years) and never looked back.. I will never count on cheap oil again! Luckily I found this forum at that time and learned all the errors of my ways.. If it wasn't for Hearth.com I would have been doomed to repeat my mistakes for years.. Once I knew how to burn properly I enjoyed wood burning with DRY wood not green wood like before..

Ray

 

[raybonz]

I saved a ton of money heating with wood. The ice storm of '08 left a couple cords on my doorstep. Used stoves kept the cost down. You can even find good deals on new stoves like the Englander nc30 HD was giving away last year for about 600 bucks. I was able to keep the temperature in my house above 70 f for the past two years with wood heat. Scrounging wood becomes second nature. Lots of people give away wood, it is too hard to burn wood for most people. I could not imagine trying to heat a house all winter long to 70f with electric! Even in a lower priced area. Wood isn't for everyone though. I just moved and will now switch to pellets. Rental property has no chimney so I sold my four wood stoves. I will miss it.

Good thing you kept that chainsaw to deal with those oversized pellets!! lol .. Chris are you buying or renting that house? I thought you bought it.. Make sure you post pics of that new pellet stove, to me it looks alot like a VC stove, very nice! Good luck to you and the family my friend!

Ray

 

[VCBurner]

I saved a ton of money heating with wood. The ice storm of '08 left a couple cords on my doorstep. Used stoves kept the cost down. You can even find good deals on new stoves like the Englander nc30 HD was giving away last year for about 600 bucks. I was able to keep the temperature in my house above 70 f for the past two years with wood heat. Scrounging wood becomes second nature. Lots of people give away wood, it is too hard to burn wood for most people. I could not imagine trying to heat a house all winter long to 70f with electric! Even in a lower priced area. Wood isn't for everyone though. I just moved and will now switch to pellets. Rental property has no chimney so I sold my four wood stoves. I will miss it.

Good thing you kept that chainsaw to deal with those oversized pellets!! lol .. Chris are you buying or renting that house? I thought you bought it.. Make sure you post pics of that new pellet stove, to me it looks alot like a VC stove, very nice! Good luck to you and the family my friend!

Ray

Thanks Ray. No it's a rental. The stove sold before I got to see it so the search goes on! The windsor is a bit of a pellet hog though so I'm not upset, more time to research for a perfect fit. Kids love their new school, especially the ones in the Middle School (Narragansett.) It is a lot bigger than the school in Paxton, which was k-8th grade. I just mowed one of their soccer fields today, while the boys played at the playground, it was a beautiful day!!

 

[mhrischuk]

No brainer for me as my propane bill is approaching $5000 a year. I could buy all of my wood fully processed and seasoned and still save thousands. We do use LP for the clothes dryer also. How can we dry our clothes with a wood stove?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

No brainer for me as my propane bill is approaching $5000 a year. I could buy all of my wood fully processed and seasoned and still save thousands. We do use LP for the clothes dryer also. How can we dry our clothes with a wood stove?

Hang em up in the same room.