Your Home: Home heating costs
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This winter if you're trying to save money on your heating bill, you've got some options to choose from.
“You can effectively zone heat a section of your home and save money on your overall fuel bill by putting heat where you spend the most time in your house. Whether it be a pellet stove, a wood stove or a gas stove, there are many products that will give you the same amount of efficiency by putting them in the rooms you spend the most time in,” said Lucas Stritsman, home heating expert.
Wood, in any form, heats well and so does gas. Cord wood is labor intensive, pellets are less so and a gas system, be it natural or propane is easily maintained and may be the most efficient choice. However, each unit has its own installation quirks, which may end up being your deciding factor.
“A wood stove needs to be vented, vertically, up over the roof line. That needs to be considered. A pellet stove or gas stove can be vented right out the side wall and terminated horizontally. A little less invasive when you go right out the side wall,” said Stritsman.
Cost savings vary, but wood, pellets and gas are all cheaper, in the long run, than home heating oil.
“If you're using heating oil and you add a pellet burning appliance, you can save up to 25%. If you're looking to go to a wood product, it's up to 35% when looking at the cost per BTU when you're burning wood versus oil. It gets even higher when you're primarily using liquid propane. Percentages could be up to 45 to 50% savings when you go to a wood appliance when you're already burning propane. When you're looking at cost per BTU, cord wood is still the most cost effective solution out there,” said Stritsman.
If you already have a heating stove of some kind in your house and are looking to make a change to a different fuel, the process is simple. Any appliance for the three fuels we've already talked about is also available in what's called an insert.
“An insert would be utilized if you have an existing chimney or an existing fireplace. We want to re-utilize that space. That existing fireplace is usually cold and drafty. Now we're putting an efficient heat source inside,” said Stritsman.
That's a lot to take in. Just make sure to consult an expert like Lucas before making any decisions.