The use of wood for heating is an essential element of our lives. The first snows arrive in late September, and the wind frequently blasts dry snow at speeds of 40 to 60 miles per hour across the open countryside. Wind chills and snowdrifts abound in this part of the world, so the warmth of a wood burner is delightful.
For several years, I've been heating my home with wood. Nothing beats getting rid of or drastically lowering your heating expense. It's an example of a market-based solution in action. It's one of the feet I've firmly planted in self-sufficiency soil. You can, too, if you've grasped some of the critical aspects of wood heaters Adelaide.
If you've never heated with wood before, there are many things to consider. In general, you trade labor, space, convenience, and a smidgeon of comfort for significant heat bill savings. Otherwise, you swap your money for someone else to provide heat for your home - at whatever the market rate is at the time.
Let's have a look at some of the concessions and trade-offs we make when heating with wood. "Everything has a price," as the saying goes. Because wood stoves and fireplace Adelaide do not function automatically every day, your comfort is jeopardized to some level. They need you to attend to their needs for more wood, ash cleaning, and air intake adjustment.
Heating with wood is far from as simple as flipping a switch or pressing a button on the wall-mounted thermostat that regulates the temperature of your furnace or boiler. Wood must be brought in, which may require you to do so when it is inconvenient to do so, such as during a snowstorm.
To some extent, space has been compromised. Outside, you'll need somewhere to stack big wood. You'll also want to keep some wood stowed near the stove inside so you don't have to walk outside to gather wood every time the stove has to be refueled. Wood occupies a lot of room. Much more than you might imagine at first, mainly because the "space" occupied by utility company gasoline can only be recognized while sitting outside and watching your meters spin.
Wood heat necessitates a significant amount of effort. Wood must be chopped, split, carried, stacked, and then transferred to a location where it can be loaded into the stove at any time during the day. Processing enough raw wood to heat your home for the winter can take a couple of weeks with power tools. During the heating season, ash removal is a recurrent task. Also, make sure the chimney is in great condition and clean it regularly. You can call a chimney sweep Adelaide for assessment.
Sawdust, splintered pieces of wood, wood chips, and fragments of bark from any wood can build a path going to your stove. Unless you're prepared to deal with it, it's a bit of a mess. Removing it is a dirty job because of how easily ash can become airborne.
When it comes to money, there is also a trade-off. A modern high-efficiency wood stove is an expensive purchase. If you buy firewood rather than harvesting or scrounging, it can be costly, so you'll want to compare wood prices to regular fuel prices to see if it's cost-effective. There's also a trade-off between the cost of electricity used on blowers and electric-powered heat exchangers versus the cost of fuel oil, propane, or natural gas saved by having a backup heat source.
So, if you're thinking about installing wood heat in your house, you'll need to examine the trade-offs and compromises involved. I have no regrets about heating with wood since I prefer the idea of being more self-sufficient and less reliant on others. I also like the thought of being more involved in something that makes me appreciate the effort that goes into everyday life. Finally, I'm far more prepared to take care of myself and others in the case of an emergency simply because I'm doing more of it as part of my routine.