Chop Winter Utility Costs Down to Size–Burn Wood!

The cost of living has continued to rise in Virginia, including utility expenses in winter. Many homeowners have made budget adjustments to make room for payment of high utility bills. Others have explored the possibilities of supplemental heating and discovered that heating with a modern wood-burning stove is an excellent way to cut utility costs. Wood is the least expensive heating fuel, and wood stoves are highly efficient.

How the EPA changed wood stoves

Today’s wood stoves are nothing like the potbelly stoves of old. Thanks to stringent environmental requirements, modern heating appliances such as wood stoves must be energy-efficient. Using a wood stove built according to current emission guidelines by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency can help homeowners reduce heating costs by as much as half, when energy prices soar.

How much heat does a wood stove produce?

There are many sizes and varieties of wood stoves. A wood stove may be able to heat anywhere from 400 square feet to 3,000 square feet or more. The size of the stove and the layout of the space it’s installed in determine how effectively the heat is distributed. Chimney pipes used to exhaust fumes from a wood stove can be installed just about anywhere in a home. The trick can be distributing the warm air. Some models have a fan that circulates heat from the fire box to the home. It’s important to buy a wood stove of the correct size for the space it’s installed in. If it’s too small for the space, no amount of wood-burning will sufficiently warm the entire room. If the stove is too large, the appliance will have to be used inefficiently, to prevent the area from being uncomfortably overheated.

How much does firewood cost?

The cost of firewood depends on where you get it. For some people, firewood costs nothing more than the effort to cut down the trees on their property and chop the wood into logs for the stove. The wood must also dry out for a period of six to 12 months or so. A cord of wood purchased, delivered, and stacked currently costs between $150 and $350 or more. It costs less to pick up the wood yourself. If using your wood stove for supplemental heat and to cut utility costs, between three and five cords are usually required.

Other fireplace savings

At various times, there have been tax breaks for people purchasing energy-efficient appliances such as wood stoves. When you buy Energy Star products, you can count a reduction in utility costs, if you turn off your central heating and rely on the stove part of the time. An energy-efficient wood stove can cut annual heating costs by 10% to 40.

The importance of stove maintenance

Maintaining a wood stove is an important safety measure. Contact the experts at Chimney Saver Solutions for the best in maintenance, inspections, and cleaning. Without proper maintenance, it’s impossible to get the most benefit out of your cost-cutting wood stove.