Wood heating systems are a great way to save money on your utility bill. If you have an old, inefficient wood stove in your home, it might be time for an upgrade. But is the payback of upgrading worth it? This article explores that question and provides some insight into what the best option may be for you!
The other day I was browsing the internet and saw an article that said wood stoves are bad for your health. I thought to myself “This doesn’t sound right.” So, I did some research on it and found that they can be harmful if you don’t use them properly. But how do these things work? Do they save money or cost money? Is it worth it to buy one, or should we just stick with gas heating systems?
A wood stove is a great way to help save money, but there are some factors you need to consider before making the investment.
People are always looking for ways to save money. Not only do they want to be better with their household budget, but they also want more out of life. Spending time at home is a great way to get away from the stresses of work and get back some quality family time together. Everyone enjoys being able to sit down in front of a fireplace each evening after spending hours on end working their day job or enjoying hobbies outside during the day. There’s nothing like coming into your house on that chilly autumn or winter night when it feels so cold outside and sitting next up by an open fireplace in order to warm yourself up again!
The problem is that a wood stove might not actually save you money. In fact, if the installation isn’t done correctly (and by someone with experience), it can end up costing you more in repairs over time than the actual purchase of the new piece to your home! You may think this doesn’t happen very often because most people know enough about their appliances and heating systems, but there are some things to consider before making such an investment. Having said all this, does a wood stove help save money? The answer is yes…but only if it’s installed properly or repaired when necessary!
Does A Wood Stove Save Money? (Or Losing?)
A wood stove is a great way to help save money, but there are some factors you need to consider before making the investment.
People are always looking for ways to save money. Not only do they want to be better with their household budget, but they also want more out of life. Spending time at home is a great way to get away from the stresses of work and get back some quality family time together. Everyone enjoys being able to sit down in front of a fireplace each evening after spending hours on end working their day job or enjoying hobbies outside during the day. There’s nothing like coming into your house on that chilly autumn or winter night when it feels so cold outside and sitting next up by an open fireplace in order to warm yourself up again!
The problem is that a wood stove might not actually save you money. In fact, if the installation isn’t done correctly (and by someone with experience), it can end up costing you more in repairs over time than the actual purchase of the new piece to your home! You may think this doesn’t happen very often because most people know enough about their appliances and heating systems, but there are some things to consider before making such an investment. Having said all this, does a wood stove help save money? The answer is yes…but only if it’s installed properly or repaired when necessary!
Cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour
The first step to determine if a wood stove will save you money is researching the cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour. If your house uses propane or natural gas, then look up how much it costs to fill that tank with fuel and compare that price against what a cord of hardwood firewood sells for at your local store.
As an example let’s say we have two different homes in two different locations: one where all healing comes from electric heaters and another that burns through a full truckload of firewood each winter. In both cases, the home has been heated with fossil fuels since construction was completed ten years ago except during summer months when they use air conditioning instead. The average temperature difference between inside and outside is about the same for both homes.
We give a home in Chicago that heats with electricity an average price of $0.17 per kilowatt-hour and one in Flagstaff, AZ where natural gas provides heating an average cost of $0.27 per gallon equivalent to roughly half a million BTUs or 0.025 therms (100 cubic feet) which also happens to be what it costs on this particular day at my local grocery store near downtown Phoenix while I am writing up these examples online from my own tabletop fire-burning stove here inside our 2000 square foot central desert home heated by eight different types of wood split into various sizes.
In order for a heat source like electric heaters or propane furnaces to save money over burning wood, it must produce more heat per dollar spent than the cost of a cord of firewood.
For most homes heating with electricity, propane, or natural gas that is not metered by the kilowatt-hour then you don’t have any real idea how much fuel costs so determining if they’ll save money isn’t possible unless you want to purchase enough extra electrical appliances for an entire year in order to get your total consumption up to high enough so that you’ll know what one unit actually costs.
However, when paying for each gallon equivalent at the pump whenever buying gallons of liquid fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel separately in addition to having no clear understanding of their actual energy content – be aware that there are roughly 33 million BTUs per gallon and not the roughly 120,000 BTUs per therm that we expect to see.
For those who heat with propane or natural gas where you do know your total usage in gallons equivalent then it isn’t as necessary to determine if a wood stove will save money because you already have this information but can use our formula below as an approximation for saving over other heating sources just like those living without metered electricity – which is actually most homes.
To calculate how much one cord of firewood saves compared against another fuel source simply divide the cost of burning a full truckload by either 33 million (BTU/gallon) or 0.025 therms (100 cubic feet). Let’s take $200 dollars worth of propane for example.
$200 / 33,000,000 BTUs per gallon or $0.0697 divided by 100 cubic feet which is roughly equivalent to a hundred bucks in natural gas at my local store for this example but may vary from place to place and also change over time depending on current prices among other things like the percentage of moisture content in the wood that you’re buying along with any delivery charges if they apply when compared against a cord of firewood selling for about twice as much money where there’s no cost after actually cutting down all those trees yourself – commonly referred to as free fuel otherwise known as renewable energy because it comes right out of thin air! That alone makes burning wood worth considering especially since we can make our own solar ovens and solar water heaters to help offset the costs of collecting firewood in addition to using a few types of biomass fuels for cooking if we decide not to go completely off-grid.
For those who do pay for each incremental unit of electricity or propane at a flat rate then it doesn’t matter how much money you’re spending per gallon equivalent because your total bill remains fixed regardless – just be aware that sometimes this information is available from suppliers but only when comparing their rates against other providers over time as one example. In such cases, all you need know is what that fuel source actually costs compared directly against wood which can easily be determined by simply dividing cost into 33 million BTUs (BTU/gallon) or roughly 100 bucks (100 cubic feet).
To calculate the rate of return on your investment for building a stove like mine then simply divide 33 million or 100 by cost (cord) to get roughly 333,333% meaning if you’re paying $100 dollars per cord of wood then at least one should pay itself back within three years according to this formula which is good.
Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Program
The EPA’s Energy Star program is a great tool for homeowners considering the purchase of wood stoves. The energy star certification means that products have met strict guidelines in regards to efficiency and safety, so you don’t have to worry about burning your home down when buying an efficient stove!
Is it true that a wood stove may save you money?
The short answer is both yes and no. I suppose it depends on your definition of “save”, as well as the true cost of heating with electricity or propane (which people sometimes factor into their savings calculations). However, if we are considering only what you spend to buy and maintain a wood-burning appliance over time – then in most cases I would say that there isn’t even close to enough energy saved by switching from gas/electricity back to wood heat for someone living in an average-sized house where they aren’t motivated by environmental concerns – simply because buying equipment upfront can be so expensive! In addition, depending on how often you use your firewood stove during the winter and how much of your house you heat during the process, it’s quite possible that a good wood stove will cost more to operate than heating with gas or electricity.
The longer answer is this: there are always trade-offs; every solution has its upsides and downsides (which vary from person to person). That said…If I had to choose between heating my home with electricity/propane OR firewood – then yes, in many cases I would definitely say that using wood saves money. This is because while some people burn $50-$100 worth of fuel per week when they use their stoves full-time–my family uses less than half of that on average just doing our daily cooking! So we save big!
Another way to say it: We heat approximately 2000 sq ft of living space (including a full basement and high-ceilings) on less than $20 worth of firewood per week. And that’s even with the wood stove sitting idle for weeks at a time during summer months! If we had to get our electricity from Hydro Quebec instead, I estimate that we would probably end up spending about 30 times more (and still not be able to afford such large windows or insulated walls/floors, etc).
Safety Tips for Wood Stoves
- Keep a window open in the room where you have your stove. If it happens to catch on fire, this will help air to flow through and prevent smoke from filling up the room.
- Make sure that any flammable items are kept away from or at least three feet from your wood-burning appliance. These include things like curtains, furniture, rugs, etc… This is especially important when starting a fire with new logs as they can produce sparks that can ignite nearby combustible objects. Remember kiddies: play it safe! Residual embers should be disposed of carefully too – remember these could start another blaze if left unattended elsewhere.
- If you have a fireplace, make sure that the damper is open before starting up your wood stove or fireplace. This will allow smoke to escape easily and prevent backdrafts of harmful gases into your living area.
FAQs
Who can use a wood stove?
Anyone who wants to save money on their heating bills or heat their homes for free! You may have seen them in some rural areas, but they are increasingly popular all over the world as an inexpensive way to heat your home and protect our environment at the same time. Even if you live in a city, there is probably someone nearby with one that would be happy to let you share theirs when it's cold outside (for a small fee of course). Not only do these stoves help people cut back on their energy consumption by using something they already have plenty of access too, but many models also provide benefits like adding humidity into dry air during winter seasons which helps keep everyone healthier.
How much money can you save with a wood stove?
This answer will vary depending on the type of stove and the size of your home, but it's not uncommon to see savings as high as 30% or more from using one! In addition, if you have access to free firewood then those savings could be even higher. For example: If you heat a 2000sqft house with an oil furnace for $2000/year (average cost in New England) and install a small pellet stove that heats around 500sqft instead, we're looking at about $1000 possible annual savings – just by changing out your heating source!
Do I need special training or equipment to safely operate a stove?
No! You can find someone to install it for you if you don't feel comfortable doing so yourself, but most people with no experience will be able to do this in about an hour or two and only need the help of one other person. Most stoves also come equipped with everything needed including air intake controls, chimneys/flues, etc…
Will I still have heat when there is no fire in the stove?
Absolutely! The majority of these wood-burning appliances are designed to keep heating your home without any active flame which makes them great 24/365 except during power outages (which we all know happen much more frequently than they should). This ability allows families to carry on with their lives without needing to worry when the next outage takes place because it's almost guaranteed that they will come.
What type of wood is best?
Wood burned in your stove should be as dry as possible (without being dangerous) and must never contain any chemicals, paints, or other such materials which may release fumes into the air you breath while operating a fire inside of it! Any burning material can technically work but most stoves are optimized for softwoods like pine and fir due to them producing greater amounts of heat per unit vs hardwood species (which might take more time/energy spent cutting up).
Conclusion
A stove may save money, but only if it is used. It will not make you money by itself. You have to spend money on it first. Then, you may be able to save some of that back over the course of using the stove.
A wood stove is a luxury item – not something everyone needs. If you are looking for ways to save money in your life, this type of product might not be right for you regardless of whether or not it has any impact on how much heat your home will need or if it saves you money at all. It would also require an initial investment which could make sense several years down the line depending on what happens with energy prices and inflation rates among other things.