Firewood warms you three times!

If you cut your own firewood like I do, you probably already have what you need drying for next year.  If you don't have all you need yet, get on it because the sap is already running!  There is no better feeling than getting all the wood you need for the next year neatly piled for 9 months worth of "seasoning".

Our Sustainable Family switched to burning firewood a few years ago for several reasons.  Since we have 5 acres of property, most of which is wooded, we have a free and available source of fuel.  In addition, wood is a sustainable and renewable resource unlike fuel oil, which is limited by the dwindling numbers of dinosaurs currently roaming the earth and subsequently dying. 

We used to burn about 750 gallons of oil per year to heat the house and fulfill our hot water needs.  Now, we only burn about one tank (250 gallons) per year for domestic hot water (showers, hand washing, etc.), which currently saves us about $2,000 per year.  [Yes, you read that right.]  The entire cost of the wood stove plus all the triple-wall stainless steel chimney pipe, cap, through-the-wall kit and everything else came to about $3,000.  I saved money by installing it all myself, but even with installation costs factored in, you can get your money back in three years instead of two.  And, even if you don't have 5 acres of hardwoods to harvest, you can have split seasoned firewood delivered right to your house for about $200 per cord.  We burn about three cords a year for our approximately 1,600 sq. ft. house, so use that as a guide.  Even buying all of your wood, you'll probably make your money back in five years instead of two or three.

Sounds great right... but what is the catch?  The catch is, just like with anything else, the more you are willing to do, the more money you will save.  In my case, the wood we burn warms me three times throughout the year... first when I drop it and pile it, again when I split and stack it, and then finally when we burn it!  The biggest bonus for us is that our house is significantly warmer in the winter now than when we relied on oil.  We used to keep the thermostats consistently in the 64-67 F range all winter and layer on the sweaters.  With the woodstove, the temperature is consistently around 70 F and with a little practice we can now get the fire to last pretty much all night.

Using firewood as your main heat source in the winter is definitely more work than getting fuel oil delivered, and it is not for everyone, especially if you live in an urban or tightly populated area.  But if you can do it there is a plus side... for some of us it may be the only significant exercise we get all year!