Thanks to this great site I was able to read and research many different ideas on a Wood insert. After reading everything I thought I would share my experience with others who may be thinking of making this investment.
To start with my house was built in 1977 and is 1600 square feet. I have a zero clearance fire place in the middle of the house. At first I thought there was no way to put a wood insert into my zero clearance fireplace. But thanks to this great site I found out there was hope for me after all ( Granted it is a little con-traversal with some of you). I checked with my insurance company and they would not let me do the install my self. I checked with my two local stove shops and got bids. My options were to go with the lopi answer or a Napoleon 1101. Well to be honest I liked the lopi better as it had the fan in the front, but as I tried to order this and work with them on getting this installed they treated me horribly! There customer service was terrible! I then decided to switch company's and go with the Napoleon 1101 ( I am glad I did as they have been outstanding to work with). I got it installed with the block off plate and an insulated SS chimney liner just like everyone said to do.
Feb 1 was my first day of burning. After a few days of break in fires it was working like a champ. The stove was very easy to use and dial in ( I had been doing days of reading on this site so I was a little ahead of the curve!) The first few days the hardest part was figuring out where to place a box fan in my house to move as much air around as I could.
Well today I received my first power bill and it was $103 and the average temp for the moth was 24 degrees ( I have a smart thermostat in the house and the average temp in my house for the month was 71.3) In jan my power bill was $298 with the average temp for that month at 27 ( my average inside house temp that month was 64.7). Thats a savings of almost $200 a month with the house staying almost 6.5 degrees warmer! I could not be happier (well I could be but ripping out the zero clearance and re framing walls to install a free standing stove was just not in the budget!) With the cost of the Napoleon 1101 and installation I am into it for $2750. I know I was very long winded in my write up, I was just hoping that my experience might help someone else!
To start with my house was built in 1977 and is 1600 square feet. I have a zero clearance fire place in the middle of the house. At first I thought there was no way to put a wood insert into my zero clearance fireplace. But thanks to this great site I found out there was hope for me after all ( Granted it is a little con-traversal with some of you). I checked with my insurance company and they would not let me do the install my self. I checked with my two local stove shops and got bids. My options were to go with the lopi answer or a Napoleon 1101. Well to be honest I liked the lopi better as it had the fan in the front, but as I tried to order this and work with them on getting this installed they treated me horribly! There customer service was terrible! I then decided to switch company's and go with the Napoleon 1101 ( I am glad I did as they have been outstanding to work with). I got it installed with the block off plate and an insulated SS chimney liner just like everyone said to do.
Feb 1 was my first day of burning. After a few days of break in fires it was working like a champ. The stove was very easy to use and dial in ( I had been doing days of reading on this site so I was a little ahead of the curve!) The first few days the hardest part was figuring out where to place a box fan in my house to move as much air around as I could.
Well today I received my first power bill and it was $103 and the average temp for the moth was 24 degrees ( I have a smart thermostat in the house and the average temp in my house for the month was 71.3) In jan my power bill was $298 with the average temp for that month at 27 ( my average inside house temp that month was 64.7). Thats a savings of almost $200 a month with the house staying almost 6.5 degrees warmer! I could not be happier (well I could be but ripping out the zero clearance and re framing walls to install a free standing stove was just not in the budget!) With the cost of the Napoleon 1101 and installation I am into it for $2750. I know I was very long winded in my write up, I was just hoping that my experience might help someone else!
