Quote:
|
Originally Posted by fatlazyless
Wood stoves are terrific, but for most people, they are just a form of recreational heat. |
Unless you are willing to keep a wood stove stocked and burning all the time FLL has a point here. However I believe it is one of the best ways to go, even if you don't have your own source of wood, as a supplement to a home primary source of heat. Most people I know that use woodstove in this capacity have fairly good luck at reducing there oil costs. And by only using it to supplement the primary heat source you are not prone to going through as much wood, as someone who is buring for primary heat.
People I know that have used this technique, keep there thermostats down around 63 or so (i.e. some where reasonable so that pipes freezing and personal discomfort never become a concern) and when they are at home at night and on the weekends fire up the woodstove and take the chill out of the air. The big note here is to make sure the woodstove is big enough to warm the space you are trying to heat. Nothing worse then having a stove that isn't big enough to meet your heating needs.
I know from experience at my camp that if I get the wood stove going and get it up to temp. and then throw an extra log or two in, that I am able to heat a camp, that has no insulation in the roof, enough to be comfortable even when the night are dipping down into the 30s..... Mind you because I am unwilling to get up at 3 or 4 in the morning and throw a log or two on the fire the mornings are a bit nippy...... Now I know that in the middle of the winter it gets much colder, but my point is simply that with a small amount of wood you can boost the temperature and make things comfortable.