Why We Use a Wood Stove on Our Homestead

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1. Wood is nearly free. We can heat our entire house all during the cold season without spending much. That's because we live on 15 mostly forested acres, and there is always dead wood that needs removing from our forest. But even when we lived in the suburbs, we used a wood stove and rarely paid directly for our wood; we just asked around and found friends who had fallen trees they wanted removed,or a tree they wanted taken down. (A task you shouldn't attempt unless you've been trained, by the way.)

You might wonder why I didn't say our wood is totally free. Well, because it takes time and hard work to cut it up and stack it - work that involves using a saw, which runs on gas. We figure we spend about $30 per year, tops, on saw gas. Plus there is maintence for the saw, which my husband can do himself, so it might cost a few dollars. Completely worth it, in our estimation. And, if we really needed to, we could use hand tools. So yes, burning wood is a nice act of self-sufficiency.

Even if you have to buy wood, though, you might save money. Here's an interesting news article comparing the cost of wood heat to other forms of heat in different parts of the U.S.

2. Wood is sustainable. We couldn't possibly use all our 15 acres of trees for heating our home. We can't even use up all our dead wood every year. And by removing dead trees from our forest, we are making the way for new trees to grow.

3. No worries about outages. When the electricity goes out, the propane tank is empty, or the gas line is broken, we don't have to worry. We'll still be cozy warm. And even though we don't have a cook stove per se, we can still cook on top of our wood stove - so we eat well during outages, too.

4. Quality of heat. I always feel warmer and more cozy when I'm in a house that uses wood heat. That's because wood stoves use radiant heat - they warm things around them, which heats the house more quickly and keeps the house warmer.

5. Efficiency. Assuming you have a newer stove, wood heat is quite efficient. And you will quickly learn which types of wood burn the hottest and longest in your stove, which makes this form of heating even more efficient.

6. Ambiance. What is cozier than sitting on the couch with your favorite warm beverage next to a wood stove while a storm is blustering away outside? Nothin'.

P.S. If you're concerned about the environmental impact or sustainability of wood stoves, I recommend this article.


P.P.S. Wondering what that fan is on top of our wood stove? It's an eco-fan that helps direct the heat of the stove toward our living area. It runs completely off the heat of the stove. We love it!



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