If money was of no concern, and fuel was unlimited...

[Light in the Dark]

...would you still run wood as your heat source? If not, what would you use?

 

[drz1050]

Yes, the ambiance can't be beat, I also enjoy the splitting and think a big woodpile out by the edge of the property just looks cool.

I'd also have oil fired radiators in the bedrooms and the bathroom.. it's so nice to throw a towel on them and have a hot one waiting for you.

 

[peakbagger]

A big rack of PV panels, a ground source heat pump and battery bank good for three days installed in PassiveHaus

 

[firefighterjake]

Well I think I can safely say for me personally money will always be a concern (unless I have some fantastically rich long lost relative who I don't know about who has me as their heir) so in reality this would be just a "what if" type of exercise.

So to answer the question ...,probably not. I would most likely have radiant floor heating with oil or propane with a back up generator in case of power loss. That said ... if I was truly that wealthy I wouldn't have to worry about heat ... I'd be living in the winter in the Caribbean on an island.

Again ... just an exercise ...I suspect that like most folks here we could afford to heat conventionally with oil or gas if needed ... but the savings of burning wood ... having reliable heat during a power loss ... using local resources ... etc are what keeps most folks heating with wood.

 

[rijim]

Primary heat source = wood (Cat stove probably Woodstock) passive solar house, electric backup. Few moving parts, simple and reliable.

 

[tarzan]

If money was of no concern I would not run a wood stove. I would run several wood stoves!

 

[Chimney Smoke]

I like saving money burning with wood but the bigger reason I do it is because it's a renewable resource and even if I buy wood I'm paying a local guy instead of a billion dollar oil company. I'm all about supporting the local guys when possible over big corporations. So yes, even if I was wealthy I think I'd still burn wood for heat, still have my own vegetable garden (probably even bigger if I had more money), still hunt and fish and enjoy the outdoors.

 

[Beer Belly]

Tough question.....Wife really likes the wood heat.....but like Jake, would probably winter somewhere else....never would own a pair of long pants....just shorts and sandles, and just to p*ss off the Wife....socks with the sandles

 

[cheechblu]

I would install solar panels and switch my coal furnace in the basement for a pellet furnace.
But I would never stop burning wood from our upstairs. The heat, the beauty, the satisfaction, the workout, the independence, the romance, etc, etc.
And I would drive around in a Tesla.

It is nice to dream.

 

[F4jock]

We like the ambiance in the parts of the house that are most lived in but we heat the bedrooms with oil, baseboard hot water. Prefer that to having fans all over the place. It's about a 50 / 50 mix at present and we'd keep it that way no matter.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'd burn magnesium. It burns spectacularly!

 

[Swedishchef]

The question is a dreamy one: if money was of no concern. I'd have a wood stove to play with but certainly another heat source in the house. Maybe geothermal radiant heating? The wood stove would be the equivalent of a fireplace: ambiance and a little residual heat only when I feel like it. And for whatever wood I'd burn, I would have a massive hydraulic splitter, a tractor and any tool to help me (instead of my 2 hands and a wheel barrow like I have now). And I'd still live in Canada where burning wood is a sport in the winter.

I like my 4 seasons. I don't deal well with poisonous plants and insects, tornadoes and hurricanes. Wherever there's heat, there's those. My snow melts every spring, it's a PITA, but in my 34 years on this planet it hasn't sent me to the ER where I need anti venom or hasn't tore my house off of the foundation. lol

Andrew

 

[rideau]

Andrew, I'm with you about the seasons, but what blessed spot do you inhabit with no poison oak, Poison ivy, poison sumac, wild parsnips, goatweed, ticks, recluse spiders...? And our wasps and fire ants are nothing to laugh about......Still, love the north and the seasons.

Re heating: wood stove all the way. Money no issue at all, would consider installing geothermal, wind and solar.....but love the wood stove/soapstone heat. Like being self reliant and responsible too. I too would improve my vegetable garden: not make it larger, as it presently supplies all my food needs as well as helping several others, but I would spend some money to make it less labor intensive. Would also build good greenhouse (or greenhouse extension on home) and great cold and hot frames. Love propagating plants.

 

[valuman]

I have to answer yes to the OP. I'd heat with wood because I'd use the money to buy land and build off grid. Passive solar designed home + PV + Gas Lights and Water Heater + Wood Stove(s) + Gardens + Wild Mushrooms, Fish and Game. With all of that, I think I could keep myself busy enough to not feel the need for any outside work and be able to fully enjoy my life in the woods.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Id be Jakes neighbor in the Caribbean in the winter. My summer home in the mountains would still have a stove for the chilly nights (which would be anything below 60 after wintering in the Caribbean)

 

[31 bertram]

These are some great replies, I'd be right there with Jake watching the folks on CNN in the snow shaking my head while sipping on some Cruzan Coconut Rum.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Just saw a show on the Caribbean. Starting at about a half a million you can buy an island. So far there's about 5 people here looking.....anyone have a nice boat? I can build the place. ...

 

[hamsey]

I too would be Jakes neighbor.

 

[mass_burner]

If money were no object, I'd let buderus get a constant workout keeping the house at 72. But I would also change wood stoves every year and use only perfectly seasoned wood flown in from the best forests in the world.

 

[Swedishchef]

Andrew, I'm with you about the seasons, but what blessed spot do you inhabit with no poison oak, Poison ivy, poison sumac, wild parsnips, goatweed, ticks, recluse spiders...? And our wasps and fire ants are nothing to laugh about......Still, love the north and the seasons.

Re heating: wood stove all the way. Money no issue at all, would consider installing geothermal, wind and solar.....but love the wood stove/soapstone heat. Like being self reliant and responsible too. I too would improve my vegetable garden: not make it larger, as it presently supplies all my food needs as well as helping several others, but I would spend some money to make it less labor intensive. Would also build good greenhouse (or greenhouse extension on home) and great cold and hot frames. Love propagating plants.

Well, in my 34 years on this planet I have never run into poison oak, wild parsnips (wtf are those? lol) poison sumac...poison anything for that matter. I may have been lucky. BUt I have driven accross North America a few times. I still get surprised when I pull in to a rest area and see "warning: rattle snake breeding area" signs posted alongside the washroom facilities. Maybe it's just to prevent us men from losing patience in line and doing our duty outdoors. lol. No black widows, crocs in back yard ponds, African killer bees, etc etc where I live. Yes, ticks. Moose are beasts. Wasps and typical pollinators. I had a moose in my back yard this fall and a raccoon this summer. No pythons .

A

 

[Simonkenton]

If money were of no concern, I would still burn a wood stove morning, noon, and night. I love cutting firewood with my fierce Stihl 039, I love splitting it with my fierce Monster Maul.
I love to sit in a chair and just watch the wood stove burn.
Nice to have a propane backup, as I do now, for those days with a low of 50 degrees when it is hardly worth the trouble to light the wood stove.

Swedishchef I am in the mountains of North Carolina. We do get 2 to 3 feet of snow annually here, last winter had a low of 7 below, so we certainly have 4 seasons here.
But, we have poison ivy/oak that you wouldn't believe, grows up onto trees as a vine. It will strangle your trees, I have cut poison oak vines that are 3 inch diameter. Cutting that with a chain saw would be a death defying feat for most people as the saw sprays sap all over your arms; thank God, I am not allergic to poison ivy sap.

We also have snakes up here. One day I was checking the level of my propane tank and found this guy curled up in the lid of the tank:

 

[tarzan]

Well, since we're all loaded now and there's a Hearth.com street somewhere in the Caribbean's I may fly down to drink a Corona or 30 in Dec. Right after we bust up hunting camp in Montana

 

[northwinds]

As long as I live somewhere cold, I will have wood heat. Saving money isn't the primary consideration.

Jake's new neighborhood sounds like it's getting crowded. I like my open spaces.

 

[Tenn Dave]

After I factor in the cost of the stove, installation, chimney system , stone work, chainsaws, atv and trailer for hauling wood, wood maul, gas log splitter, etc, etc,, burning wood has cost me a fortune. I only do it as a hobby. My primary heat source is a higher efficiency heat pump, and when I am sick or just plain lazy, being able to just turn up the thermostat is priceless.

 

[Prof]

I'm building a new house in the spring and am worried that a well insulated house will mean that I will have to cut back on the wood burning! The house will have at least 2 wood burning appliances, possibly three. Yeah, I got the wood burning thing bad. A contractor looked at me like I was nuts when I said "I REALLY LIKE TO BURN WOOD." If money was no object, I'd just have bigger and better toys to process wood.