Heating the Home in the Winter without the Furnace
by David Smith
(Saginaw, MI)
I used to pay $300 a month on heat in the winter. Now with my fireplace insert and a free supply of wood from local forests, I pay much less than that and still live in comfort.
I used to pay $300 on heating each month in the winter. No more do I have outrageous heating bills. I still have a working furnace with a water boiler. However it doesn't hardly do the work it used to.
Since I live in the country I have pretty much an unlimited supply of wood in my area. I had a fireplace but never seemed to use it. I started to use it more and more, and would see the temperature go up in my house a few degrees over the course of about 4-6 hours. Truly not much for the work it takes to cut down the trees and split the wood.
I decided on installing a fireplace insert in my fireplace. I had a local guy build a custom one for me that would fit in my fireplace. It is basically a wood stove that fits in a fireplace along with a heating element and burning on top. Using this insert greatly improved the output of heat in my home. In thirty minutes with a good fire going in the stove, it would heat my 1200 square foot house from 62F to 73F. Very comfortable in the middle of winter.
I store my wood in a garage attached to my home. It does kind of create a mess in my new converted fireplace to wood stove, however it is very easy to deal with because of the low bills.
Also by using this method, if the power ever goes out, I can start a fire and my pipes will not freeze. It also keeps my entire house warm, including me.
Make sure you get your fireplace insert installed by a certified HVAC technician. You do not want carbon monoxide leaking into your home. I would also recommend getting a carbon monoxide detector, to put in your home. Also make sure that your smoke detectors have good batteries in them.
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