The savings of wood

[ChrisNJ]

After my first winter in this house I got a letter from the propane company offering a year long monthly bill of $378.00 instead of the delivered price during the winter, well that led to the furnace in the basement. Two years later I just received the same offer but with a cost of $26.50 monthly, slight difference, now if I can just get the wife to line dry all the clothes

 

[zzr7ky]

That's about where my costs are. In my experience one shouldn't push issues invovling the word 'Laundry', 'Washer', 'Vacuum'... as long as the job is getting done in some reasonable fashion now. ;-)

 

[basswidow]

First year in house heating with propane ($ 5500)
Second year with woodstove in late Dec ($ 1100)
third year with only using propane for Dyer and HW ($ 700).

I've considered going to an Elect HWH and dryer as my rural Electric is cheap compared to the jacked up $ 4.40 per gallon propane. I have also considered owning my own tank and getting a better propane rate independently.

Thank god for my woodstove and free wood!

KUDO"S on your savings.

 

[BucksCoBernie]

we're thinking about putting up a clothes line instead of using the dryer during the warm months.

This past winter, our first heating with wood, we used 40 gallons of oil for the central heating system. The previous winter we burned over 600 gallons to keep the house at a chilly 65*.

I figure using 560 gallons less than last year at $3/gallon is a savings of $1680.
My insert was bought barely used for $600 and I self installed the full liner which cost about $850 for everything.
I also had to buy wood in February because half of my stash wasnt seasoned enough...I bought 3 cords of wood for $450 and still have a cord left over for next season.

After my first winter the unit pretty much paid for itself and I couldnt be happier.

 

[firefighterjake]

My wife and I actually prefer using the clothesline to the dryer . . . although we do use the electric clothes dryer for my uniforms to get the wrinkles out of them.

 

[mayhem]

My electric dryer with 3 people in the house (one of which is an active 7 year old girl) consumes about $20-22 a month in electricity. We hang most of our clothes, but use the dryer when it best suits our needs.

Heating wise, I have invested about $4000 total in my wood stove (cost of stove, chimney pipe, installation, materials to build hearth pad, etc) and in 3 winters I've saved about $6000 in oil costs and reduced electricity consumption from not having the oil burner running as much. I used 497 gallons of oil this season, my lowest ever...before the stove a low season was about 1500 gallons.

 

[quads]

Without wood heat, our house takes 2000-2500 gallons of LP to heat it per year. I'm not even sure nowadays what LP gas costs per gallon, so can't figure a dollar savings.

As for drying clothes, we don't even own a clothes dryer. Nice weather they get hung out on the line. I rigged up a system of pulleys for the line so I just stand on the back deck and run them out to dry, then back in when done without even needing to move from one spot. In bad weather, they dry by the woodstove on the lines I set up there. On warm rainy days when the stove isn't going, I still hang them up there to dry, just takes a little longer.

 

[ChrisNJ]

I agree zzr7ky, that's why I hardly ever say anything as she does all the laundry for herself and 3 kids, I certainly don't want to do it

Damn Bass, and I thought my supplier was a gouger :-O they are only charging like $3.35 a gallon, although we do own our tank.

 

[smokinj]

2700 sqft 29.00 a month.

 

[woodsmaster]

I figure I use about $75/month elec. to heat water and about $60.00/month in winter to dry clothes and supplamental heat. That should go down to about $15/ month in winter to dry clothes once I get my boiler installed.
My wife likes to hang the clothes out!

 

[Cluttermagnet]

I'm saving probably somewhere around 2,000. per year in unpurchased no.2 fuel oil. Or upwards of 4,000. if the outrageously high oil prices of a few years ago had 'stuck'. At the time I was quoted 5.05 per gallon. It'll get back up there, sooner or later. My oil boiler is still 'capable' for heating, but I don't run it.

The very first year I had the savings above. Or, reckoning another way, that was the payback year for the 1,200. I had to shell out to take down a 100ft+ dead Red Oak. That wood then lay on the ground for about 3 years before the wood burning era began in my household. It was still good wood, just a little punky here and there. Works out to 300-400 dollars a cord. I figure I got 4 cords or so. It was a big old tree. The stove costs were very reasonable. So year two and beyond, all my wood heat has been 'free' (plus my labor).

Oh, gear costs? Probably under 300. to date. I got a small homeowner saw (16in Homelite) and a few good chains for it, a couple gallons of gas and bar oil, and a few inexpensive hand tools- also a number of good free or hand me down tools. Some day I may get a better saw, but I'll probably keep borrowing or renting a splitter unless I get lucky and come across a really sweet deal on a good one.

Just last weekend, a good deal on a garage sale cant hook- 5 dollars. Yes! ;-)

 

[Jags]

I replace about 1000 gal of propane per year by burning wood. Whatever the price per gal X 1000 sounds like a pretty good savings to me.

 

[savageactor7]

Driers are a great convenience in the winter but I love the smell of cloths hung out on a line. Esp fresh sheets, put your head down on them and it's... Good night Irene!

ChrisNJ props on your savings...but it's only savings if you set it aside and it's there...tempting you.

 

[SolarAndWood]

We went from 4000 gallons of LP a year to about 300 for hot water, stove and grill. Reinvested the savings into windows, insulation and a modern stove to dramatically reduce wood consumption. Hope to replace the LP water heater and grill soon.

 

[mfhmfh]

We are in VA on two heat pumps for about 4500sqft above grade and a finished basement - ceilings through out are 10ft and in the great room about 13ft so we have a lot of space to heat and cool. We are 100% electric and when we moved in, we were running a little over $450 a month on a plan. We put one stove in the great room and turned down the upstairs unit (which made the wife comment on many occasions how chilly it was). My neighbor then gave me his Buck 91 which we put in the living room. Last year we cut our winter costs to about $200 a month running both stoves daily. And the summer months we also came in lower - about $250 or so.

Not as much savings as folks up north burning oil and LP, but we are saving about $1500 a year maybe $2000. It will take a couple years to recoup the investment costs, but we now keep the house at much more comfortable temps. Actually, my wife heats it too warm - but since I am heating with scrounged wood...who cares. She is much happier with the main living areas in the 73-77 range...which we would never do if heating with the heat pumps especially in the dead of winter when it is below 30. that first year...we ran things at 68 degrees until I could not take the cold comments and then we pushed it to 70.

If I had to compare apples to apples...I would have to run the heat pumps in the dead of winter at those high temps to get a good estimate. I bet it would be another $150 a month at least...which would make the saving even more - possibly $2500 - 3000.

But what I can not put a price on is the enjoyment I get from:
- Scoring free wood from CL
- Exercise and satisfaction of hauling, splitting and stacking my heating source
- Enjoyment of the kids running around not wearing layers of clothes (they like to wear their princess dresses which are paper thin and would make them frigid if the house was 68 degrees)
- Envy of every friend that sees 15 cords lined up in the back when they pay over $200 a cord for green wood by the thief's that advertise "seasoned" wood

My investment in wood burning tools:
Hampton I300 - about $4k installed with liner
Buck 91 - FREE (but $1500 for a cleaning and SS insulated liner for the 35ft chimney.)
CL Troy Built 27tn wood splitter - only used a couple times...$600
Stihl pro saw (which I would have had to get anyways since the new house has loads of trees) $700 with an extra chain
4x8 trailer for CL finds - $250 (ugly as heck, but hauls 2k lbs on 15in tires)

Like I said...about $8k in costs...which is a lot, but we break even in two more years. After that...its all savings. And as I mentioned...the joy is hard to price.

 

[burntime]

I have had an insert so long that I have no idea anymore what I save. My guess is 2k a year? But, we are comfortable at it. The family all tell me how stupid I am when I split wood, but no one complains during the holidays when its 72 in my house and they are hovering at 60.