Saving cash by burning wood

[stockdoct]

Here's the results of my first year of burning wood :

Winter October 2007 - April 2008
Degree days: 5564
Therms of Natural Gas used 941



Winter October 2008 - April 2009
Degree Days 5653
Therms of Natural gas used 488

Savings of Natural Gas : 453
Average cost of Natural Gas 2008-9 64 cents

Savings $289

 

[Jags]

To what degree do you run your stove? 24/7, nights and weekends, only when cold?? Does your stove have the ability to heat the house or is it just a room or two? Just trying to get the full pic here.

 

[begreen]

Great gas price. How much wood did you go through this last season?

 

[stockdoct]

I ran it about 18 hours a day for most of the winter. One week out of 4, I work 100 hr workweeks and couldn't be home to manage the stove so the furnace would kick in. Hot water heater is gas, so that didn't change. And when it was 10 degrees below 0, the wood burner had no chance to heat the whole house, so the furnace would kick in occasionally.

Overall, cutting my total gas usage by 50% for a 2400 sq. foot 2-level house seems about what I had expected.

 

[stockdoct]

I went through almost 3 cords of wood.

I guess I learned a lot this year. IF you were to look only at the costs, burning wood this year to save money was a miserable failure. Even after the cost of the stove and installation, I spent $700 on chain saw, stove gloves, ash can, maul, stove tool set (my best find at $29) and worked my ass off to save only $289.

But on the other hand, I made my two cats REALLY happy. They spent their entire winter, flipped over on their backs, eyes closed in contentment, sucking up the heat from the stove. I also got exercise, and felt the typical self-sufficiency and "stick it to the man" feeling we all share.

But unfortunately, "the man" was VERY efficient this year with natural gas prices cheaper than they've been in a decade. Usually, gas is 80+ cents per therm and there's a clear trend to go up each year......except when we're in a global recession (depression?), where world-wide gas use is down to record low levels.

But I do believe gas prices will rise, especially if T. Boone Pickens has his way and 100,000 semi-trucks powered by natural gas come on the roads in the next 2 years and the recession ends and Chinese gas-fired power plants come back online. I don't think its unreasonable to imagine NG prices going to $1.20 a therm in the next 2-3 years. With what I learned this year, I can imagine saving maybe $1000 a year from here out.

I'm going to continue burning wood, I've got 3 cords + waiting for next year and hope to get another couple. I enjoy the work, and the ambience and good feeling burning wood gives me. But if there's someone out there who heats his home with NG and lives in an area that burning season lasts less than 6 months, he certainly ought not to think installing a stove and burning wood will be a slam-dunk on saving money.

 

[Jags]

You have a good outlook and attitude. Its not just about today, but tomorrow and the next day. In a few years, when everyone else is buying expensive gas to heat their homes, you will look back on this and reflect on "how good of a decision it was". My stove and firewood equipment has been paid off for quite awhile. Going forward is simply gravy.

 

[mayhem]

My napkin calculations strongly suggest that the roughly $4000 I have invested in my wood burning system (stove, hearth parts, chimney pipe, installation, various tools and 3 purchased cords of wood to suppliment what I was short) has been piad back to me in 2 years oil consumption savings. I usually go through an average of about 1500 gallons in a typical year wihtout the stove, last year I used about 600, this year between 400-500. Of course it helps the payback time when oil spiked bigtime last year.

On top of the actual $ savings I also kept my house more confortable than when heating with oil.

 

[gpcollen1]

In rough terms - I saved about $1200 on electricity running a second stove this year.

 

[Slow1]

I burned about 250 gallons less oil this year than last season (beginning of season that would have cost about $875, right now it would cost me more like $500 - pick your price). I burned about $1000 worth of wood/biobricks/envblocks (mostly wood but the prices I paid it didn't matter in the end). Burned all day, never really achieved good overnight burns until the last week that I was burning so probably averaged about 18hrs/day. However, kept the house significantly (about 5-7 degrees) warmer than last winter.

So - we paid too much for the wood that was not as seasoned as it should be. Sent a lot of heat up the pipe in the process of learning the stove, and was surprised by falling oil prices. Oh well! Already averaging about 40% lower cost on my wood for next year and hope to get it down even lower average cost by picking up more free wood through the spring/summer. Will have much drier wood and I certainly know much more how to operate the stove. Next year I have little doubt that we'll clearly be saving money AND still keeping the house warmer.

Plus I love this hobby - having a good reason to get outside and exercise through the winter is a nice thing too. With a new little one due end of the summer I'm sure I'll need to get out of the house even more this fall

 

[burntime]

you guys forget, you are MUCH MUCH warmer! That means the little lady is wearing less too! Also, I know I can use the exercise!

 

[jqgs214]

WOW 64cents per therm?? Here its over $2.00 was around $2.50, if I could get it for 64 cents I wouldnt burn wood!

EDIT that s total cost delivered

 

[Henz]

hmm..under a $300/year savings?? Did you ahve to buy the wood too? If so and you spent more that $289 then your not saving anything but you obviously know that. I paid my stove off in 2.5 years time and now its a savings every year. I woudlnt go back to just heating with oil for anything, but I also have an endless supply of wood! now if I just had more time!

 

[JBinKC]

I am sure your savings were negligible and not really worth your time given the 75% sell off in natural gas prices over the last 9 months. You were a victim of bad timing of when you installed the stove. With that said at least you have a backup system that will always be operational in all weather conditions and are prepared for when the savings will be worth your efforts.

 

[PeteD]

Fear not, prices will rise again and you will save in the future. I am still finishing my installation, but I purchased in the fall and looked at the drop in prices as a good thing anyway. It gave me time to do things right and let my wood season. Saving less does not mean spending more. I will take today's oil and gas prices as long as we can get them.

I calculated a few months back that the drop in petroleum saved me $70/week in gas along with $31/week in oil from the highs. I'll take a deceleration in my payback period for saving over $100/week anytime.

That cheaper petroleum will "pay for" my install in a year without burning a split.

Anyway, wood-burning capability is a great insurance policy again the return of $4.50 heating oil, whether it comes soon or not.

Pete

 

[Slow1]

Saving less does not mean spending more. I will take today's oil and gas prices as long as we can get them.
...
I'll take a deceleration in my payback period for saving over $100/week anytime.

That is SO true! One can so easily lose sight of the fact that in all these calculations looking at the savings we are comparing with much lower petroleum costs than most expected this heating season. Bottom line is that we saved $'s - perhaps by burning wood, perhaps simply from lower oil/gas prices. We spent less and if that is the topic then we should all be happy.

And you bring up the additional benefit of the lowered gas prices for driving (last I checked, nobody has gone back to burning wood for steam driven cars have they?) which is likely saving most of us more year round than any wood burning could save.

 

[Todd]

My natural gas per is $1.36 per therm. $.64 per therm is a steal and I wouldn't even bother with wood if I could pay that.

 

[northwinds]

I'm at $0.90/therm for natural gas and administrative charge. Then I get hit for $30.33 for customer charge and
distribution service. Typically, my bill is over half fixed charges.

I don't burn wood to save money. I like to set fires to keep my house warm. I like using a (sharp) chain saw.
Most of the time, I like hand splitting wood. I need the exercise. Any cash saved is gravy.

 

[BrotherBart]

I figure I save around $12,000 a year by not freezing to death. We don't have any other heat source, there are two of us and the last funeral I paid for cost six grand. :lol:

 

[Der Fuirmeister]

I ran it about 18 hours a day for most of the winter. One week out of 4, I work 100 hr workweeks and couldn't be home to manage the stove so the furnace would kick in. Hot water heater is gas, so that didn't change. And when it was 10 degrees below 0, the wood burner had no chance to heat the whole house, so the furnace would kick in occasionally.

Overall, cutting my total gas usage by 50% for a 2400 sq. foot 2-level house seems about what I had expected.

You can heat a 2400 sq ft house for $~$650 per year with Nat Gas!!?? I wouldn't burn wood. My house is 2000 sq ft., I burn LP and would spend $2600-2800 if not burning wood. Then again I'm 150-200 miles and 1000 degree days North of you.

Still, you must have about R90 for insulation and no windows......

 

[rumme]

Jan 2009...electric bill was $281 ...using electric heat pump { which I despise...}

put in wood stove beggining of Feb....

have only used wood since then...

Feb. bill - $ 103

March bill - $ 98

This is for a 2800 sq ft home...with 10 ft ceilings....

but we dont heat the basement..only 1st and 2nd floor......

all my wood, is free.....

in about 4 years, my woodstove and all the accesroies will be payed for...

 

[Hiram Maxim]

You have a good outlook and attitude. Its not just about today, but tomorrow and the next day. In a few years, when everyone else is buying expensive gas to heat their homes, you will look back on this and reflect on "how good of a decision it was". My stove and firewood equipment has been paid off for quite awhile. Going forward is simply gravy.

What a great Quote!

 

[SolarAndWood]

The used $400 VC Encore we installed 4 years ago replaced about 4000 gallons of propane/yr used by the previous owner of the house. I scrounge all of our wood. I haven't taken the time to figure out our savings (I spend the time scrounging instead), but I am ready to up the ante and install the boiler this year. My next target is the electric meter.

 

[ROYJ24]

NG bill in FEB $69, BECAUSE 1 Week chimney clogged largest NG bill this heating season.
MAR $37. Life is good. :coolsmile:

 

[lexybird]

my wood furnace paid for itself plus 700 dollars the very first year i owned it ,i went from $2500 in fuel oil to zero,not a drop ..your not using your wood stove properly ornot buring much while working those kind of hours .where i nthe world is a therm of NG only $ 0.64 ? and how long will that price last now that bobo is in office ?

 

[stockdoct]

The 64 cents was an average for the winter. March's cost was 48 cents/Therm.

I also know that 25% of the heating costs is monthly fees and delivery costs that do not go down when you use less gas. I used 50% of last year's natural gas, and the overall cost was only 30% cheaper. I might work on investigating a solar water heater to get that part our of my natural gas bill.