That's exactly the question I was going to ask! Great setup. I wonder if there's a way to do this with an indoor woodstove, I'd love to cut that cost along with the others that wood helps me take care of!
I have been lighting the fire the week of Thanksgiving and burning through the end of heating season. So about 75% wood heat and 25% oil F/A for me. Furnace kicks on some on the colder windy nights. Hoping to upgrade my wood stove and get closer to 90% wood heat in the near future
I wish I was 100% wood but life's not that easy. I have oil hot water baseboard heat that also does domestic hot water.. but I live with women so that's a lot of hot water. LP does dryer and stove. it's not that I want it this way I need to save 4 grand to upgrade my electric service to put in bigger panel cause 100 amp box is not enough for house horse barn and 3 car garage. Also basement is split level 4 feet below wood stove but I'm 90% wood.. electric bill 75 a month .... LP 25 gallons for 6 months.. and last year when it was frigid 200 gallons of heating oil Good news if I have to leave everything is OK
After two days in the fifties and no fire overnight, the house finally cooled down to about 65 today So despite still being in the 50's OAT, we have a small fire going- since we're 100% wood heat. I don't count the gas logs, cos I don't like to use them.
When the highs are in 50's during the "shoulder season" I let the heat pump heat the house, but once it cools down I flip off the breaker to the heat pump and electric back-up and heat 100% with wood until it warms up to the 50's again for good.
I send the hot boiler water through a flat plate heat exchanger that circulates the hwh water through it. Breaker is off on the hwh. The circ pumps are controlled automatically by monitoring the temps. This way there's 40 gallons of 180* hot water on hand.
I tell ya, having that first (wood) hot water shower of the season…. I'm sure it's my imagination, but somehow that water feels better! I wash the vehicles with (straight) hot water in the winter!
Im about 80% wood. The NG kicks on in the AM before I get up and reload the fire. I love having wood heat. After being cold all day at work its awsome to stoke up the fire when I get home ans sit around in a Tshirt. My water is NG also.
One good thing about having all the hot water I can use is when I worked deep behind the Cheddar Curtain, I would get the chills at least once every two weeks during the winter. Between the indoor sauna and the larger tub, I would thaw out and warm back up to normal operating temperatures within an hour of arrival!
100% wood heat here... and when we go away for the weekend, we just throttle down the Blaze King, load an armful of NIELs and there are still starting coals and a warm house when we get back.
This Winter has been easy so far...........................I do travel to FL for 4 days every 4 weeks to work though. When I'm gone, my NG furnace is set at 55*F. Save for when I've been gone; all my house heat has been via wood,
