the value of wood heat?

[weatherguy]

My dog lays right in front of it like jetsams dog, I swear she's going to combust one of these nights.

 

[Rangerbait]

My dog lays right in front of it like jetsams dog, I swear she's going to combust one of these nights.

We had a cat that would crawl around the back of the pedestal and lie directly beneath the stove. Damn thing beat feline leukemia and ended up living to be 23 years old. My dad always said that she kiln dried the leukemia out of her haha.

 

[72Rover]

A friend who lived a short distance from the "end of state maintenance" sign way out in the country found a kitten that had been dropped off on a single-digit, dark and stormy night. The little thing was minutes away from becoming a critter-cicle. He recovered nicely, I adopted him, but he lost the tops of his ears to frostbite. From then on, he was like that character from that Jack London short story: he could never get warm enough....

He would lay so close to my Vermont Castings stove, that if I put my hand on his fur closest to the stove, I had to pull it away. When he passed at a ripe old age, it seemed only fitting to have him cremated. He still sits by the stove.

Cheers

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

My dogs like to go to that one spot in the house where it's about 150° and just lie there and bake.

View attachment 196220


As for me, it's also nice to have something that makes the coldest days fun, and a roaring fire does that for me.

Wood heat isn't that much fun most of the year, but it sure saves me a ton of money. I look at it like a combination part time job and gym membership that I actually use.

Hey now , is that a blaze king dog bed or some fancy photo Tom foolery ?

 

[rdust]

When I bought we only had propain, the payback was fast. We have NG at the house now(still have to hook up) but still burn wood. If I ever move I will heat with wood, I enjoy every aspect about it except for the stacking, that part I could live without.

Nothing better than when I watch my kids come down in the morning and head right for the stove.

 

[venator260]

Everyone's wood stove math is different. For me, it's the wood stove and electric baseboard. The electricity bill can climb rather quickly if I don't have the stove going. For the NC 30 and a chimney reline, I have about $2500 in my wood burning system. With a very poorly insulated 4 bedroom house, the payback on that shouldn't be more than a couple of years.

The wife and I are putting in a ZC fireplace in the living room over the summer. I can't imagine that this will ever really pay for itself, but it should look really nice. It should reduce wood consumption (living room vs. basement) and reduce the use of our baseboards, as we turn them on when we are upstairs, again due to the basement stove.

 

[bfitz3]

I spent $400 on cellulose insulation and saved 20% on my propane bill. To figure this out, I requested a degree-heating-day data set from my propane dealer. Before the stove, I believe I was using 1500 gallons per year and am now using 150 or so for H2O. So... The insulation paid for itself in one season. It'll take 3-4 years yo pay for the stove, and another two, maybe, to compensate me for time cutting, etc.

Value that is harder to measure... I don't fear power outages any more. I'm in better shape for the exercise. The house is warmer. I'm not contributing to the fossil fuel planet pillage. Damn that stove looks good! I have more reason to be in the woods. I never wake up when the furnace kicks in.

 

[toddnic]

Four years ago we made the investment of moving from propane to using wood to heat our house. It meant installing a woodstove, the hearth, subfloor system, and chimney. Overall costs were about $5,000.

Our situation four years ago: We had four children and would let the nightly temp in the house go down to around 62 degrees. During the morning and evening hours when everyone was home we would raise the temp in the house to around 68 degrees. My overall cost to heat with propane was between $1,400 and $1,700 per year.

Our situation now: We still have four children and the nightly temp in the main part of the house stays around 70 degrees or higher. The bedrooms remain slightly colder due to location in the house and desired sleeping temperature. I currently spend around $40 per year on propane. I have used 5% of my propane supply this year primarily while we were traveling for a week. I have recouped my initial investment and am currently realizing tremendous savings each year. I have a free supply of wood which entails my cutting, splitting, and stacking for a few days each year which I actually enjoy.

Wood heat has significantly changed our home environment. I no longer hear my wife or children speaking about being cold inside the house. The kids enjoy waking up in the morning and either standing or sitting by the woodstove. We have been able to get three years ahead on wood and so our wood supply now is very dry and burns well. There is no question regarding my family....we are SOLD on using wood to heat our home!

 

[Sodbuster]

Four years ago we made the investment of moving from propane to using wood to heat our house. It meant installing a woodstove, the hearth, subfloor system, and chimney. Overall costs were about $5,000.

Our situation four years ago: We had four children and would let the nightly temp in the house go down to around 62 degrees. During the morning and evening hours when everyone was home we would raise the temp in the house to around 68 degrees. My overall cost to heat with propane was between $1,400 and $1,700 per year.

Our situation now: We still have four children and the nightly temp in the main part of the house stays around 70 degrees or higher. The bedrooms remain slightly colder due to location in the house and desired sleeping temperature. I currently spend around $40 per year on propane. I have used 5% of my propane supply this year primarily while we were traveling for a week. I have recouped my initial investment and am currently realizing tremendous savings each year. I have a free supply of wood which entails my cutting, splitting, and stacking for a few days each year which I actually enjoy.

Wood heat has significantly changed our home environment. I no longer hear my wife or children speaking about being cold inside the house. The kids enjoy waking up in the morning and either standing or sitting by the woodstove. We have been able to get three years ahead on wood and so our wood supply now is very dry and burns well. There is no question regarding my family....we are SOLD on using wood to heat our home!

I've been burning wood for about 20 years now in various homes. We've been in our current house for about 6 years now, and for the first time ever I'm 3 years ahead. Next year will be Oak that has 4 years on it, and the year after that will be Hickory and Maple, and the last year will be a mix of Ash and Cherry. It's a nice feeling to be working ahead.

 

[Chas0218]

Not sure about you but the wife and i just bought a 1600 sqft home with a new hot water baseboard furnace and the fuel oil bill just came in to a tune of $670. I'm not sure how long this 200 gallons of fuel lasted but it went thru about 1/16-1/8 tank in 1 month. So in my case the new wood stove and free ash from my parents will help offset the costs nicely. I'm guessing the 200 Galllons lasts about 1.5-2 months on the heating season.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Texas123]

I live out in the country where we have delivered propane or electric at best. Having a wood stove means I don't have to worry about power outages or an ice storm. I have stayed warm at 9 degrees with only a wood stove and this is good enough for me.

 

[begreen]

There is monetary value, but there is also intrinsic value. The beauty of watching the fire, bone deep warmth, the pleasure of waking up to a warm home, the enjoyment of the process are all highly valuable to some.

 

[jetsam]

Hey now , is that a blaze king dog bed or some fancy photo Tom foolery ?

It is a genuine maybe-one-of-a-kind Blaze King dog bed.

Its history is here and then here. I recommend the second thread especially because there are a ton of animals in front of stoves in it.

Thanks again to @BKVP ... this house is absolutely brutal on dog beds, but the magic Dingo Bed is on its second year.

 

[jetsam]

My dog lays right in front of it like jetsams dog, I swear she's going to combust one of these nights.

Mu grandmother had a cast iron smoke dragon woodburmer that stood on 4 short legs, and a cocker spaniel that would go underneath the stove when it was burning. You could not put your hand underneath even if you were inclined to drag her out (which nobody was, because she was crazy and unpleasant on top of being fireproof). I still don't know how she managed to avoid catching fire under there.

(Also, don't get a cocker spaniel that likes to bite people if you live in the woods... because when the dog gets into the burrs and ticks and skunks and such, dog maintenance becomes a bit less fun than usual. This has been a public service announcement.)

 

[Sodbuster]

Our older German Shepherd will lay her head right on the hearth, I've used my infrared to check her head and it's been as hot as 120 degrees F. At that point I wake her up and move her a little farther from the stove.

 

[velvetfoot]

I can tell how hot the stove is by how close our kitty is to it.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

I've posted my math a few times, but I'll post here again.

I'm adding up all our current natural gas heating, subtracting out boiler heat and cooking heat in NY @2400sq ft. It comes to about $825 for the past year, that's with keeping the house at 68°F and with one scheduled heating zone. I assume we'll get 50% from an medium sized insert (which might be aggressive) but would add up to $412/year savings from our current point. If you want to compare it with heating the home at 72°F/22°C you can maybe add in an extra $100-$150. Assuming I can get everything installed for $3000 and get all free wood, it would take over 7 years to break even. After that I would save the $412/yr.
It would be slightly more accurate if averaged over 5 years, but we just moved in recently.

It makes a lot more sense per dollar if you have oil heating where it costs $500/mo. Then there is also the backup heating value and "intrinsic" value as some others noted.

Once you already invested in the stove, you are just loosing out by not using the stove. So in my case it's about $80/mo on average for the heating season.

Our older German Shepherd will lay her head right on the hearth, I've used my infrared to check her head and it's been as hot as 120 degrees F. At that point I wake her up and move her a little farther from the stove.

HAHAHA. Literally baking!

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Living in the 'burbs, in a neighborhood of mostly wooded acreages, if you don't have a wood burning setup, you either have to pay to have the trees hauled off when they go, or know of some intrepid individual who does, to keep the lot clear.

I hate paying to have valuable commodities hauled away, and my neighbors generally like saving money when they have tree work done, so everyone wins.

I always forget this part of the cost equation.

 

[jetsam]

Living in the 'burbs, in a neighborhood of mostly wooded acreages, if you don't have a wood burning setup, you either have to pay to have the trees hauled off when they go, or know of some intrepid individual who does, to keep the lot clear.

I hate paying to have valuable commodities hauled away, and my neighbors generally like saving money when they have tree work done, so everyone wins.

I always forget this part of the cost equation.

I actually get about half of my wood off of craigslist this way, because it's easier to drive a few miles and pick up bucked rounds with the big trailer than it is to take the much smaller trailer into the woods, find tree, drop, limb, buck, and haul. BUT the woods are there every day, and craigslist only has free wood every so often!

 

[heavy hammer]

I just prefer the heat that the stoves put out, nothing better than a hot stove on a cold night after being outside all day. That said I'm heating 4000 sq feet and have only used about 50 to 60 gallons of heating oil this heating season. Burning wood does save money but it does take time. I believe it is a life style that you choose to live. For me I have been around stoves and fireplaces my whole life so it is nothing new. I have access to free wood, so that makes it easier as well. I have never figured out the cost of cutting, splitting, stacking, moving etc. But I enjoy this, for many they do not. I have many friends who would rather just turn the thermostat up a little than harvest wood. Plus after a mild winter like this one wood should be plentiful, plus heating costs have been low. I figured wood should be very easy to get ahold of. If you enjoy the process of getting it to your stove, or fireplace, and love the heat wood gives then to me that is enough.

 

[begreen]

I can tell how hot the stove is by how close our kitty is to it.

Wish that worked with our cat. He is a total heat sponge and loves the woodstove. Rubs up against the ashlip regardless of how hot the stove is burning. He's singed his tail a few times this winter as it flicked against the glass.

 

[jetsam]

My dog lays right in front of it like jetsams dog, I swear she's going to combust one of these nights.

It's a good spot!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

That's how I lay in front of the stove.

 

[Poindexter]

back on track at the Op, a couple thoughts.

1. If your house is colder when the wind is blowing you got some air leaks. Fixing those is going to save you money no matter what form of energy you use for heat.

2. Analyze. Look at your primary fuel, and look at wood. As far as my insurance agent knows, my house is heated with #2 fuel oil running hot water baseboards, with a supplemental woodstove. My last oil fill was $2.41 / gallon. Average is about 139,000 BTUS in one gallon of #2 fuel. I burn spruce, 18 million BTUs per cord. It takes 129 gallons of #2 fuel to make the same 18MBTU that I get from a cord of spruce.

So I can look at the price per gallon of my last oil delivery, multiply that by 129 and know EXACTLY what a cord of spruce is worth to me, BTU for BTU.

Right now, with #2 fuel at $2.41 delivered, a cord of spruce is worth $310.89, BTU for BTU, to me. Not long ago I was paying $3.86 delivered for a gallon of #2. Winter of 2014 a cord of spruce was worth $497.94 to me.

Propane was up to something like $5/gallon in the midwest USA winter of I think 2014. I guess the wheat crop came in wet and the processors called in their contracts to run the harvested grain through some enormous propane powered wheat grain dryers. I could have got something like $700 for a cord of spruce that year, delivered to Iowa.

So a cord of spruce is worth $310.89 to me, today. I bought five cords in the last two weeks at $200 each, average, delivered to my driveway already cut to length and split. I am up $550, or will be when I get them dry and burn them. I got plenty of time to dry them. I got plenty of winter coming up to burn them. It's money in the bank- in the sense of a lower fuel oil bill.

Some intangibles to consider.

Do you have a gym membership? If you are running a wood stove north of Indianapolis you can probably cancel your gym membership.

What is your time worth? I can buy cords of spruce from the state at $10 each. But I have to drive out to the cutting area in the state forest, fell live trees, cut them to length, load them in my truck, bring them home, unload the truck, split the rounds, season the splits, all to save $300/ cord of effort expended. My time is more valuable than that. I can have logs delivered to my driveway at about $165/cord, but it is a lot of trigger time on the chainsaw.

The guys staying on top of craigslist grabbing free rounds in town are the ones making out like bandits. Drive to an address in town, pick up a truckload of wood already cut to length, pay nothing, do someone a favor and drive home a short distance on paved roads, jeez, must be nice. I envy them their free time, but I don't envy the discretionary income level accompanying.

Once you have your air leaks sealed up - I use blue chalk on interior walls in the winter time where I find drafts, then clean the chalk off over the summer as each leak is fixed- and a firm idea of what a cord of wood is worth to you, and a clear idea of how much time/money you need to get each cord, then find a comfort zone that keeps your wife smiling too.

A couple things I see here over and over and over.

1. You can buy "seasoned" wood from a blue million vendors. Getting actual seasoned wood delivered is not common for anybody on the planet that posts here. Plan to buy green wood and season it yourself.

2. Happy wife = happy life. It might be that between work and kids and marriage you only have time to put up two cords of wood annually. I suggest you go with it, light the stove Christmas Eve, run it flat out through January and don't be surprised if there is "time" for you to put up three cords for the following year. I didn't start out running ten cords annually, but I don't see dropping back down to 6 cords annually unless we move to Texas.

3. Pine is a new stove operators best friend. It dries in one summer, and you can probably have it delivered to your house for next to nothing. If you can get some pine in over the next two months or so, get it split, stacked off the ground, covered on top and you will be ready to burn in September. I don't know the maples well since they don't grow up here. Softer ones seem to be ready in one year, the harder maples will probably take two years to season.

4. Get your air leaks fixed.

 

[velvetfoot]

There was a useful spreadsheet that also took into account efficiencies here:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/experts/heatcalc.xls

At some point it was deleted. With the change in administration, perhaps it will be restored.

Doing a search on heatcalc.xls , vestiges may be found at places like:
https://ag.purdue.edu/extension/renewable-energy/Documents/ON-Farm/heatcalc.xls