Saving Money on Heating
We are in a recession and all of us are trying to find ways to trim our budgets. Wintertime often taxes our budgets even when the economy is in good shape. A main concern for all of us is the skyrocketing cost of heating our homes.
Many of us are looking into alternative means of heating our homes to try to assess which method is best and the most economical. Burning firewood as a source of heat is one alternative. The advantages of this method are it is a renewable energy source, if you have your own woodlands, the cost is minimal, it provides a steady source of heat and it will work even in a power outage.
On the down side of heating with wood there are disadvantages. There is the possibility of creosote buildup with the likelihood of chimney fires. Chopping and burning with wood is time consuming and dirty with insects and ashes. There are hidden expenses such as log splitters, trucks to haul the wood and chimney maintenance. If you have to buy the wood, it is too expensive to be cost effective.
Anthracite, or hard coal, is gaining popularity as a method of residential heating. Some of the advantages of burning anthracite for fuel are it has the highest BTU per ton when compared with other residential heating fuels, it burns clean with very little odor, you don’t have to worry about creosote buildup in your chimney and it is a domestic product.
There are also some disadvantages of burning anthracite for your heating needs. They are that it requires an electric blower to burn, a fine ash can escape from the stove into your home and it has limited availability. Another alternative source of heat are wood pellets. A good pellet burning stove sells for about $2000.oo to $4000.00 plus installation. The good points for wood pellets are they are a clean, green fuel, they are cost effective when compared with other heating fuels, they are convenient and the stove can be direct vented.
On the down side of wood pellets, the stove requires electricity for the combustion blower so they won’t work in a power outage. The quality of the wood pellets is not always consistent from one manufacturer to another. Sometimes, people have an allergic reaction to the ash and dust residue. If you are being shocked by your high heating bills, you may want to investigate different possibilities for your heating needs.
