I am just curious as to how others are heating their house during the winter months. We are looking to reduce our propane bill it just seems that every option we choose ends up being about the same cost without investing ,000 for geothermal (after rebates). We just installed a 91% efficient furnace last year so our furnace is good to go. We also have a free standing wood stove that we use on occasion. The wood stove is old and we don’t trust it while we are sleeping or away for very long. Last year we used about 700 gallons LP and burned probably 1/2 cord of wood. We have a single level 1500 sq. ft. house. We were considering putting a pellet stove in but are unsure how many tons of pellets it would burn to determine if it would be worth it. We also though about installing some of the new ceiling fans that have the space heater in them, but they are 0 a pop and still cost a lot to operate. Just looking for some opinions and no, I don’t want to hang blankets up or shut rooms off because we use all of them. Does anyone use a pellet stove? How much pellets do you burn? Do you like it? Thanks in advance!!!!!

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We currently use an indoor wood burner as our primary heat source and use the propane furnace only when away from home for extended periods or as back up if the fire goes out in the middle of the night. We actually love the wood heat too. This place is a small 900 sq. ft., all on one floor.

We are buying a home that was built in 1930, we will be moving into it this summer. The gas man came out yesterday to turn the natural gas on and suggested we replace the forced air furnace with something newer that would be more energy efficient. Well we have already discussed adding a wood burning stove to help heat the home before we were told this. My question is, could we heat a 1700 sq. ft. 2 story with basement home on wood alone or at least as a primary source of heat? Where would be the best place to install the stove? I have been told in the basement but we actually like to watch the fire and I am afraid hat if there ever was a natural gas leak and the wood burner was burning, that we’d
have a major disaster on our hands. I am open to suggestions. We live in Michigan and do have some cold winters.

Mary

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know if I can do that or not.
A friend remodeled their house and had never used the fireplace so they don’t know if it was wood or gas….So how do I find out? Or does it even make a difference?
Also I know I have to build a chimney, is that something that is really expensive to do or can we do it pretty reasonable?
So are you saying if it is a gas fireplace you can not burn wood in it?
There are some fireplaces that can do either or, right?
I guess I should be little more clear,lol.
We have not installed this yet. I want to knock out a window and put in the fireplace, so the depth of it would be outside rather than taking up the space inside. So inside on the wall would be the mantel. Out side we would have to build around the unit and put a chimney up. What I am wondering is the people we got it from never used it but said it was wood or gas but was hesitate so we want to be safe. It is older unit so I dont want to take any chances. It didnt come with any gas piping but that doesnt mean when they remodeled they didnt get rid of it. So I want to know is there a way to tell if it is either or gas or wood or can it be both like they said? And the chimney part I am just curious if anyone has built a chimney and if so is it rather expensive, I heard to do a chimney out of river rock its like .00 a sq ft and that is rather expensive. Is brick cheaper?
Thanks everyone, I am not looking to be cheap and blow up my house,lol

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But our Bill came very $$$$ High this Month since we are using the Gas fire log ?.
I have two story house 1600 sq.ft. and I need to know, If have something to do with the size for the house ? or … to save more $$$ should I CHANGE my vented Gas fire Log for a real WOOD ?.

Why should I spend too much in GAS , when I only use the fire log once on a while ?
I Don’t even use my Gas oven, only my electric small oven !.

What is happening?

Thanks : }

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I have a farm house just given to me that is about 1000 SQ. Ft. and need to buy a wood stove. They are cheaper at the hardware stove but not sure if it is worth the savings.

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I live in Richmond, VA in a 1300 sq ft ranch. I have an oil-fired burner for heating and window A/C units for cooling. My heating system is located in the crawl space. I am considering a heat pump for central heating and air and would like to explore the possibilty of a retrofit as an alternative to a completely new system. I would like some input regarding cost impact of one alternative versus the other. My thought is to remove the existing furnace and reaplace it with the new air handler, connecting to the existing duct system (assuming the duct system is adequately sized to carry the required cooling cfm). Since the oil tank and piping are already in place, an integral oil burner could serve as emergency heat (versus traditional electric). I see potential cost savings by eliminating the materials and labor associated with a new duct system. Thoughts?

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Hello, So I just picked this up for a sale price of 9 and It included the volcanic rock kit along w/ a flat black fireplace hood.

Brief Description:
26,000 -39,000 BTU
Heats up to 1,300 sq. ft.
8 concrete logs
Item #LDL3930NR
Comfort Glow Whispering Hills Oak Dual burner gas logs stove. It is thermostat remote controlled. Also has automatic shut off timer and child lock.

Now I’m am wondering if anyone has used these fireplaces or owns one from this company? Is this a reputable company? This seems like a "To Good to be True" deal on Compact fireplace.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
-Mark

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Is there a way i can check local rental rates in my area to see if this price i’m getting is competitive or outrageous? It’s roughly a 50 yr old home, 1600 sq ft, 3 bd rm, 1 1/2 bath, with 2 car garage, privacy fenced back yard, and fireplace. Also utility’s for previous tenant ran 60$ a month for gas and 90$ for electric. They are asking 825$ a month as well as a 700$ deposit and 300$ for pets. It’s located in Midwest City Oklahoma. Any info is appreciated. No negative comments please…

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we just bought a house with an open real fireplace which we definitely intend to use to cut back the electric bill. i’ve looked up how much a cord of wood is, but i am wondering how long we could expect it to last? we would probably burn firewood at least most evenings – i will probably just use the individual electric heat in the rooms the kids and i are in during the day when we’re home, and hubby will put a fire on when he gets home from work. the house is about 2000 sq ft, if that might help with an idea. would we expect a cord of wood to last a season? much less? or be more than enough for the winter?
it’s correct that we have no experience with using a real fireplace! we are having a damper installed to help with the heat loss thru the chimney… and there are already fans to direct the heat towards the main living area. we will probably use it mostly to start a fire in the evening when hubby gets home to spend dinner and family time… and will just let it go out and have the electric heater thermostats set to come on in our bedrooms when they need to.

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I live in a one story home with a finished basement. I believe our house is about 2800 sq ft. Our gas bill has been around 300 dollars per month. We have gas and electric. I think the heat and hot water heater run off the gas. There may be one more thing that uses it. The rest runs off of electric. Our electric bill is usually about 150 a month or so. I guess I’m wondering why our gas bill is always so high. I’ve always heard that gas is cheaper than electric. And we never use our fireplace. We keep the thermostat on about 67 degrees, So i dunno why its so high? Does this seem normal? I think the company we have is PSNC Energy

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