I have an Energy Selector that contains the data for 8 different fuels. It compares the equivalent costs of each fuel. The chart is 2 sided so I took 2 pictures, the 2 pics are for the same comparison. If Heating Oil costs $1.50/gal then the equivalent cost of wood is $195 per cord which is the about the average cost around here, for those who burn pellets the comparable cost would be $175/ton and Natural gas is $1.15/therm and propane at $1.05/gal. Using that data I would say that when oil is under $1.50 its cheaper then buying wood. I have my own wood lot and I estimate it costs me around $30 a cord to cut so oil will never be cheaper for me.
The firewood lifestyle, for me, is engrained in my bones. I not only do it for saving money, IMO there is not better feeling in the winter than coming home to that warm house..... The sights, the smells, the warmth. We'll be at it full-bore every winter, until my body breaks down completely .....
I voted that I'll burn the same as any other year, but the more I think about it I'm not sure. I'll still light a fire in the morning and evenings like always. But we're expecting an addition to the family in late October, and my wife is taking off work from then until 2016. I highly doubt she's going to be keeping the fire going during the day when it's just her at home, especially during that first month since she'd have to go down to the stairs into the basement with a fresh C-section. So while the amount of wood I burn won't change, we might actually use the furnace this year, as normally it never even get's turned on.
I am one of those thrifty new englanders... my oil thermostats stay at 50! Soooo, if I want to be happily married I can be assured the new Ideal Steel will be on However will top 2 oil tanks for 550 gallons in house and if I run low on dry enough wood... might not keep such a vigilant eye on thermostats
Yes, it is a lifestyle. The only thing that will change wood consumption is the temperature. If its colder more gets burnt, warmer, less.
I might burn the oil a bit more than years past, but only because I don't want the oil in the tank to get sludgy- it's been in the tank for 4 years now. I still have half a tank left & I should probably burn through it by next winter. ive been adding an anti-sludge product every fall but don't want to push my luck...
Unlike some others, one of the reasons we burn wood is the savings. We simply could not afford to heat this old crate to the comfortable temperature we want (80 degrees). I remember many moons ago when we moved into this old crate and we figured then it would cost us a minimum of $1000 per month to heat it and that not up to the 80 that we like in winter. So, we simply sold the furnace! We already had a wood stove from our previous home so that was not a problem. As for the wood, nothing is free. We pay a fair amount for land taxes and if we did not own the wooded land, we'd pay less taxes so part of that we figure goes to heat our home (hope that made sense). So yes, we cut all the wood from our own place so the only money outlay we have in normal winters is gas and oil for saws, atv and splitter. Of course there are always some little upkeep expenses but they don't amount to much. I remember buying a new chain for one of the saws last winter but never got around to putting it on so have a new one for this year! Usually have to buy some bar and chain oil. Change oil in splitter and atv and of course gas expense, which, fortunately, has came down. btw, today gas is 2. 269 here. A year ago it was around $3.40. Sweet!
I just remembered, i NEED to burn wood this winter. Otherwise, where am i going to put all the new wood i will processing?
I've been toying with getting the propane tank filled or just getting an adapter for a small cylinder. This will be year 6 since the furnace has run. Since the GF isn't working anymore she should be able to keep the house toasty enough(then again burn more wood) The only reason I've pondered it is I'm a bit short on stacked hardwood from the 2012 season and these past two winters caused me to dip into those stores - MOAR pine have tree that need CSS plus a white oak behind the garage died over this past month - no idea why but its coming down
Same firewood-still ahead by buying log loads. Pellets are a closer call. Oil seems to be 2.58 around here, which is higher than a lot of other places, so pellets are still a 'go'.
I checked off the "Less than Prior Years", but we really need a third and fourth choice. First, I checked that because I expect a much warmer season this year. We rarely get two VERY cold winters in a row, and we had a COLD winter last year with as much snow as I can ever remember. I'd be VERY surprised to see that occur again, but I would also LOVE it! But we need other choices because I'd bet all of YOUR money, the price of oil will sky-rocket right around the time we need to fill our oil tanks for winter. It never fails!! It's a SCAM! They know dang well when we all start re-filling our tanks, and it doubles in price every single year just before that, late Nov or December. This year will be no difference. So we need: [] Burn less wood UNTIL the price goes back up" And sure I burn to save some cash, but my main reason like many of yours, is to enjoy burning wood! The heat, the smell, and even processing wood! Common, we are hoarders!! And what would we do with our wood, as coal reaper said:
I may let the propane kick in more during shoulder season due to being cheaper . May not be home as much this fall so tending the stove will be out.
About the same for me, propane hasn't come down nearly as much as fuel oil. I paid $1.79 for my propane last time I topped off. I do some of my heating using propane anyway so no changes for me. I could understand why some would choose to use some fuel oil this year with the pricing being so low.
