[ParisApril]

So we bought a wood burning insert for our fireplace and have been heating our 850sq foot house with it this winter. It requires more effort to start and feed the fire than just running the furnace but boy is it worth it.

I was looking forward to saving money on the gas bill which we are about
$80-$100 a month.

What I hadn't expected was the savings on our electricity. This year I am drying our clothes on lines in the basement and not in the dryer so that is different from years past too. So with no dryer and no furnace running this past month we used almost 1/3 of the electricty than the same month last year! About $100!

A face cord of wood costs us $70 CDN. So we are saving $110-$130 dollars a month! Wow

: The wood heat feels warmer too!

 

[velochic]

How many face cords do you burn a month? We heat with wood, too. Just curious.

 

[ParisApril]

A face cord lasted us 5 weeks. Oct 30th - Dec 12th.

 

[sanguine_speed]

That's great!
What does a 'face cord' cost?

 

[velochic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ParisApril A face cord lasted us 5 weeks. Oct 30th - Dec 12th.

Great!

 

[Denvergirlie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed That's great! What does a 'face cord' cost?

The OP stated in her orginal posting that a face cord cost $70 CDN

 

[sanguine_speed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denvergirlie The OP stated in her orginal posting that a face cord cost $70 CDN

D'oh

. Thanks

.

 

[AuntNi]

That's incredible!

: You're right that wood heat "feels" warmer.

After our furnace died last week, then hundreds of our neighbors were out of power overnight (outside temp: 13 degrees,) I'm seriously considering getting a wood-burning fireplace insert. I would love to have it to take the chill off on really cold days, and for a backup heating source.

My brother heats his house with a fireplace insert. After he blew 10 bags of insulation into his attic a few years ago, he uses less than 2 cords of wood per winter.

 

[ParisApril]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuntNi That's incredible! : You're right that wood heat "feels" warmer. After our furnace died last week, then hundreds of our neighbors were out of power overnight (outside temp: 13 degrees,) I'm seriously considering getting a wood-burning fireplace insert. I would love to have it to take the chill off on really cold days, and for a backup heating source. My brother heats his house with a fireplace insert. After he blew 10 bags of insulation into his attic a few years ago, he uses less than 2 cords of wood per winter.

Wow! Is that 2 face cords or two real cords. 4 face cords=1 real cord? It is really nice to know that no matter what we will be able to heat the house.

 

[velochic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ParisApril Wow! Is that 2 face cords or two real cords. 4 face cords=1 real cord? It is really nice to know that no matter what we will be able to heat the house.

A cord is usually 3 face cords... depending on the length of the wood. A cord is 4'X8'X4'. Usually wood is cut in about 16" lengths, so it takes 3 face cords to get a cord.

See my thread here about how disappointed I was that we didn't save more money with wood burning. We go through an entire CORD every 8 weeks, though. This year it's about $60 per face cord or "rick".

 

[ParisApril]

Quote:

Originally Posted by velochic A cord is usually 3 face cords... depending on the length of the wood. A cord is 4'X8'X4'. Usually wood is cut in about 18" lengths, so it takes 3 face cords to get a cord. See my thread here about how disappointed I was that we didn't save more money with wood burning. We go through an entire CORD every 8 weeks, though. This year it's about $60 per face cord or "rick".

We buy our wood in 12" lengths. So we get 4 face cords to the cord.

What are you burning your wood in?

 

[velochic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ParisApril We buy our wood in 12" lengths. So we get 4 face cords to the cord. What are you burning your wood in?

We have a Sierra 2100HS, similar to the one at the bottom of the page here. However ours is all cast iron, not steel, and I cook on top of it as well.

Hearth.com & its forums is a great place for information regarding heating with wood if you haven't been over there yet. We've been supplementing with wood for over 10 years (last year was the first we tried to actually make it our main source of heat) and I still learn something new every time I go there.

 

[AuntNi]

I'm sure my brother means "regular" cords - I've never heard of a face cord before.

He was feeling so sorry for me when my furnace was broken last week.

: He offered to pull the fireplace insert out of their (empty) rental house and bring it to me right then! He's so sweet sometimes.

 

[Kristine233]

We love our wood burngin fireplace. Its wicked cold here and we have a big old house. Our utilities (water, heat and electric) run about $700+ in the winter with no wood burning. Its $300 or less in teh winter when we consistently burn wood. HUGE savings! We get our wood for free as well. The ILs have 40 acres near here and we go clear out dead trees adn tress that have fallen in storms each year.

 

[Fuamami]

Oh, I'm jealous! My dh scored a cute little woodstove at the scrap yard last week for $50, but it'll take about $1000 to get the hearth built and the triple wall chimney in, so we won't have it until next year. But we can cut on BLM land all around our house, so at least we won't be paying much for the wood (except our time, of course.)

 

[velochic]

That's really the key for saving money with a wood burning stove... getting the wood for free. This year, a cord of wood where I am is under $200 (it was a bit higher last year). People who heat exclusively with wood, like the people at hearth.com, go through a cord or more per month. If they had to pay for it, it would be a wash out, almost. It really is a washout for us, but I LOVE heating with wood and we make sure that all the wood we get is naturally felled and not harvested, so I feel good about it from an ecological standpoint, too.

The key for me concerning the stove is that I can cook on it, so there is some negligible electricity savings, and we have a power outage every single winter, sometimes for many days, so it's provides heating and cooking for us (and our neighbors in some cases). I doubt we'll live anywhere else, as we really love our house, but if I do, I will definitely make sure it has or I can install a wood burning stove.