Gas bill Jan 2010 vs gas bill Jan 2011

[phenolic]

here in TX natural gas is cheap and the winters are mild. i figured it will take around 30 years to break even at 200$/cord.

i didn't buy the stove to save money though. I mostly like the thought of not having to burn fossil fuel for heat and sitting around watching the inferno after loading the stove is pretty fun too

 

[crossout]

can't wait to move out of this house before next winter i sure do like using the thermostat and have ng to heat up the place in the next new house...

 

[geoffm24]

I find it funny how the cost of maintaining your NG furnace ,boiler or whatever is never thrown in when comparing cost to wood burning and things such as labor , tools etc. Hey most of americans could definitely use more exercise anyways-- It is my first year burning(two weeks actually) --A great way to get outside at the wood pile get some exercise and heat the home

In my comparison I assume $0 cost for wood, chimney cleaning, tools, labor etc I only included the stove and the install in my 10-12 years break even estimate. Throw those things in and add furnace maintance my break even on the stove is probably 15-20 years.

Now if we REALLY want to compare apples to apples and I take my current hourly income level and say I spent the time at work instead of chopping, stacking, clearing, bucking etc that adds at least $2,000 in costs on a yearly basis vs NG which requires $0.

I love the stove and the warm rooms but burning wood is an expensive luxury at this point and not a money saver at all which sucks. Someday when NG is 2-3 times the cost my stove will make sense from a financial point of view but not now.

 

[geoffm24]

Yup, I have natural gas in my home and used a wood stove for a few years. Maybe $500 in Gas savings. I bought my own wood, being the lazy type. $500 in wood. I saved no money. I was much warmer and I enjoyed stokin an sittin in front of the fire though. I miss it.

Oil prices would have to drop to 66 cents a gallon for me to end up with zero savings from wood burning. And that's with buying my wood. 8 cords cost me $1,000.

If I cut and split myself; 8 cords of uncut logs cost me $700 + splitter rental. I can rent the splitter at $85 a weekend (Saturday at 3pm till Monday at 8am) and rent it for 3 weekends which comes to $255. Total of $955, or I splurge the extra $45 and have 8 cords cut, split, and delivered.

Oil, right now, would run me about $4,950.

Yup, with fuel oil up over $3.00 per gallon, folks with alternative heat are loving their investments.

Now take your average hourly income and multiply it times the number of hours spent cutting, splitting, bucking, stacking, moving etc and see what the numbers look like.

 

[joshlaugh]

We had NG backup. I save a ton of money by processing my own wood. I live in an old house but have always burned wood here so I don't know what is would cost to heat it entirely with NG. Neighbor has spend upwards of $600/month on NG. So I don't know how much I truly save but even with low NG rates, I don't hook it up till mid December and it gets disconnected by March. Most days it doesn't even run. I figured 6 years to pay off the Heritage with install and less with the Jotul since I will be getting the tax credit. And yes the house is warmer with wood.

 

[bogydave]

Just heard on the business news that Nat gas prices were going up along with fuel oils.
Either way, I'm burning wood, but now, I'm saving more $$.

 

[nate379]

Not to mention when the power goes out, like it does seemingly every time it gets windy, I don't have to worry about a cold house!

 

[bogydave]

We were 3-1/2 days with out power from the late Fall wind storm. Big spruce tree broke 2 lines in the lot across from me.
Ee were almost the last to get power restored.
House was warm, ran gen set for showers & football games.

Never lost gas, so cooking & hot water weren't an issue.

Reminds me, I gotta go get that tree, it was a big one. Maybe this spring.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I inherited my house from my father and last year was the first year I lived in it. His last winter he burned 700+ gallons of oil. Last year I had the stove in, but due to the wet weather my wood didn't dry enough and I only burned on the coldest nights. I still cut my oil usage down to 400 (426 IIRC) gallons. This year, even though it's only half way through, I've used 100 gallons burning as my schedule permits. When I hit 16 hour days and come home to a 14 mo old I just don't feel like playing with the stove.

I've done a lot of insulation work in the unfinished 2nd floor, but even without that I think I've saved a bundle.

Matt

 

[egclassic]

I just got my 1st utility bill after having my insert installed. Actually, my stove was installed exactly half way into the Dec-Jan billing period. I compared my usage of NG to this time last year and I am down to 82 CCF from 122 CCF, and this has been a colder winter here. It is hard to compare actual cost savings, since gas prices fluctuate so much, that is why I compare usages. Along with lower NG usage, my electric usage is also down. I do not burn 24/7, so when I am at work, the furnace runs to maintain 65*.
Even though I have to pay for most of my wood this year, I would much rather give that money to a guy who actually went out cut and split the wood and keep it out of the hands of Duke Energy. Plus I enjoy the warmer house burning wood.

 

[Joe Matthews]

The cost savings can be debated, but the comfort a stove offers, especially in a power outage, compared to any other source of heat can not.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

My "Jan" gas bill just posted online and it was $180.05 this year. Last year the bill for Jan was $352.19. This is a little misleading because Jan 2011 was 30 days and Jan 2010 was 33. Also Nat Gas is about 9.5% cheaper this year. When you standarize the days at 30 you are looking at $180.05 vs $320.17. If you remove the savings from the drop in nat gas prices you are looking at $180.05 vs $292.95.

So my savings from burning somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 cord of wood is right around $113 for the coldest month of the year. This Jan was a bit colder then last year so maybe the savings were really in the $125-$135 range.

So so far based on my savings in Oct, Nov, Dec, and Jan I've saved $225-$250 assuming $0 cost for wood, tools, labor, stove, stove install, and chimney maintance and cleaning. Assuming mostly scrounged wood my breakeven should be in the area of 10-12 years, certainly not the "savings" I had hoped for.

Bottomline right now: If you have nat gas and prices stay in this area burning wood probably costs you money so do it for the ambiance. If Nat Gas shoots back up to 2007-2008 levels you might be in for some savings but until then don't expect any.

That January bill was from December usage. Just think about the difference it should show for the actual month of January!

As for me, it is difficult to tell how much we save because it has been so long since we bought heating oil. Also, as for the time it takes me to cut the wood needed to heat our home, it really does not take that long and I never could understand why I should consider my time costs when doing something I love to do and to me it is a hobby. Therefore, I can not put a dollar factor on my time and I also cannot put a dollar factor on the warmth and enjoyment we have in our home, thanks to wood heat and a fantastic stove to burn the wood in.

 

[Huskyforlife]

The beauty of wood is that if you have the room, the right tools and time, you can do a lot of the work yourself and get a great ROI.

For example: my entire insert installation and setup including blockoff plate, chimney brush kit etc was about $2000 with the 30% tax credit.

To heat my house over the winter is about two tanks of oil, or about 4 cords of wood. Two tanks of oil here at the current price ($3.24/gal) is about $1800, plus annual tuneup is $200. So, it costs $2000 to heat my house over the winter on oil.

All last winter I scrounged wood, nearly 5 cords worth. Given that, at the conclusion of this heating season my stove will have paid for itself. Not a bad ROI.

I will continue to scrounge wood as I go along but just to be on the safe side I did actually go out and buy some over New Years. 6 cords log length for $440. It's a lot of work to cut and split, but at that price 4 cords is $300 vs the $2000 for heating oil for next winter.

Plus I really enjoy playing with my Stihl. I also enjoy splitting with my Fiskars (although I am borrowing a log splitter from a friend for this latest load). I work in an office all day long, so coming home and getting to go outside lets me blow off steam. Inside, everyone loves watching the flames and now our living room w/insert is the most popular place to be at night.

 

[PapaDave]

I think maybe in March, I'll turn on the furnace for the month and let the Ashley go cold. :ahhh:
Then, and only then will I get a true feeling for the cost savings/loss between the two. Relatively mild month, so the bill won't kill me. We'll see if the weather will cooperate with my plan. May have to wait for April.