Stove is saving $150 a month on electric bill

[Wood Duck]

After several years of planning and piling up wood in the backyard, we finally got our wood stove installed in mid-December. I was out of town at first so we started burning more or less full time about December 18th. Today we received the february electric bill which included an actual measurement of the KWH used so we can compare our current electric use with our use before the stove was installed. The January bill was based on estimated electric use - estimated based on last year, apparently. The bill is pretty confusing, but among the bits of information I can glean from the bill it appears our electric use from Dec 13, 2009 through Feb 13, 2010 was about 13,000 Kilowatt-hours (KWH). At the current price of $0.0712 per KWH that would have been $925.60 of electricity. This year for the same period we used about 4,300 KWH less electricity, saving $306.16 over the two months, or about $150 per month. Not bad for a stove that cost us about $1100 to install after the 30% tax credit. Since December we have burned about 2 cords of mixed wood. Our stove is located in a furnished walk-out basement and the house is laid out in a way that makes it hard to move the heat around. We could probably do even better if the stove was more centrally located.

 

[realstihl]

I hear ya on finished basement and layout. I think there's alot of people in the same boat. If I could distuibute the heat better I could save more money but it's hard to get the heat where you need it. Short of chopping the house to pieces there is not much hope. I just live with it for now. Some day though--------!

 

[maverick06]

Since December you burned 2 cords of wood and saved $300?? Seems like something is off. Wood costs me $175/cord. You are saving $150/cord, hope you are paying less than that for it!

I bet you find out that the stove saves you way more, it's just too early to tell. Its been a miserable winter too, I bet your saving are probably double what you are guessing.

1kw=3414BTU0
(Assuming you pay the same that I do, $0.17/kwh and $175/cord)
Resistance electric heating costs $50.90/million BTU
Wood costs $11.40/ million BTU.

That means, that if you want the same amount of BTU delivered to the house, wood would have to cost more than $779 for it cost more than resistance electric heating.

Rick

 

[JohnnyHaulin]

don't know if you have central air but my brother-in-law does hvac and is going to split the air duct and run it near my stove so I can just run the blower to circulate the hot air in the house better.

 

[HotCoals]

Since December you burned 2 cords of wood and saved $300?? Seems like something is off. Wood costs me $175/cord. You are saving $150/cord, hope you are paying less than that for it!

I bet you find out that the stove saves you way more, it's just too early to tell. Its been a miserable winter too, I bet your saving are probably double what you are guessing.

1kw=3414BTU0
(Assuming you pay the same that I do, $0.17/kwh and $175/cord)
Resistance electric heating costs $50.90/million BTU
Wood costs $11.40/ million BTU.

That means, that if you want the same amount of BTU delivered to the house, wood would have to cost more than $779 for it cost more than resistance electric heating.

Rick

Looks like he is saying 7cents/kwh.
I'm like you all said it cost me 15cents/kwh.

 

[DonNC]

Good for you wood duck!
Feels great dont it

I wish I got mine installed back in the fall. Nov Dec and beginning of Jan were cold but now its mellowed out. Expecting 75 next week according to the locals.

Last year Dec - Feb I spent over 1100 on electric. That sucker hasnt been on since I got this installed about a month ago. ours is .089

 

[HotCoals]

When you quote the price of electric be sure to include delivery charges if any plus taxes.
I just take my bill and divide it by the amount of kwh.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yep. I do the same. Usually comes to .1477 cents per KWH. The average where the OP lives is eleven cents before taxes etc. He has saved more than he realizes but 6500 KWH a month before?? Wow.

 

[dafattkidd]

Wood Duck, That's great to hear. Sounds like you've put a lot of planning into this and it's working out for you. I've been burning wood for just over a year and with the tax credit, and savings in oil, it has already paid for itself. It's amazing. The house is warmer, it costs way less to get it that warm, and it's fun to heat the house. Good luck with it.

 

[pinewoodburner]

I used to save tons of money with the woos stove when I had oil boiler for the baseboard heat.
Now that I had a new heat pump and no more oil the savings from the stove
Is not that great but the nice hot heat feels great

 

[Intheswamp]

Yep. I do the same. Usually comes to .1477 cents per KWH. The average where the OP lives is eleven cents before taxes etc. He has saved more than he realizes but 6500 KWH a month before?? Wow.

+1
Ya gotta figure everything in 'cause that's what comes out of your pocket. South Alabama Rural Electric Assc....$0.15 per kwh.

Ed

 

[PapaDave]

+2
14.54 cents here out of my pocket.
But, 6500kWh/month?! Really?
Must be lighting up the whole neighborhood.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Wood Duck. It will probably get even better. Wait until you can compare for a whole year and you might be surprised.

 

[heatwise]

thats great wood duck,i like the usage numbers that are at 1/2 of what they used to be . percentage numbers that show reductions in usage are what its all about. in the ideal lay out , one stove is great but we do best with 2 here. best of luck and may you continue to reduce usage and keep warm at the same time. pete

 

[Wood Duck]

I rechecked my bill to see what I actually pay for electricity after generation charge, transmission charge, customer distribution charge KHW distribution charge, PA tax adjustment charge, additional overcharge, etc. It looks like about 9.4 cents per KWH is what I actually pay. That means the 4300 KWH saved would have cost $404, for a savings of about $200/ month. It keeps getting better! It is a little hard to decifer what I will actually save per month since my electric bill is averaged in a rather complicated manner, and the meter is not read every month. I will not save $200 every month because my electric use goes way down in the spring.

 

[PapaDave]

Use always drops in Spring, summer, fall for us.
Do your own readings to get a better idea of usage. It only takes a couple minutes and you'll more quickly see when adjustments have made a difference.
Great job on the reductions.

 

[Wood Duck]

Since December you burned 2 cords of wood and saved $300?? Seems like something is off. Wood costs me $175/cord. You are saving $150/cord, hope you are paying less than that for it!

I bet you find out that the stove saves you way more, it's just too early to tell. Its been a miserable winter too, I bet your saving are probably double what you are guessing.

1kw=3414BTU0
(Assuming you pay the same that I do, $0.17/kwh and $175/cord)
Resistance electric heating costs $50.90/million BTU
Wood costs $11.40/ million BTU.

That means, that if you want the same amount of BTU delivered to the house, wood would have to cost more than $779 for it cost more than resistance electric heating.

Rick

I hope you're right and I am saving more than it currently appears, but I don't think the theoretical cost per BTU is any indication that I must be saving more. I am basing the savings on the electric bill not the theoretical heat output of the wood I burned. If the savings doesn't show up in the electric bill (my only utility bill), then it must be time to rework the theory to match. For what it's worth, my electric cost seems to be only $.094/kwh. I wonder if I am right and I am really paying significantly less than you in the same state. I gathered all the wood myself, so I consider it to be the free byproduct of a hobby/excercise plan.

There are same variables that I haven't accounted for in the savings. First, the room where the stove sits is much warmer than it was without the stove, and that is not only a big benefit of the stove but also a varialbe in the equation - this year we are heating some of the inddor space hotter than before. Also, this year seems considerably colder outside than last year. Finally, I think I have already become more efficient at running the stove, and I feel like I am getting more heat out of less wood.

 

[jackofalltrades]

I have a heat pump but I can't really say how much it would cost to run it regularly. I will get some idea from the Feburary bill because while I was changing heaters and things it ran for two weeks. My normal power bill is $45.00 so I will be able to get an idea with the upcoming bill. We pay .10/kWh here.