Well I am new to this site and have been reading for several hours and it is a wealth of information... I live in NE Oklahoma and the temperature swings from 68 to 18 overnight. They say if you don't like the weather today just wait till tomorrow and it will change. My problem is this: When we built our house 3 years ago my wife wanted a large fireplace to burn wood and have a romantic fire. I suggested we have a high efficiency wood burning insert to save on heating costs and she was on-board till I showed her some and she said "they look like they belong in an old timey cabin" (Our house is rustic w/ cedar beams and rock work) but I did not win. We ended up with an large open fireplace with refractory brick. Basically you build a bonfire and stand around it to get any heat. Its big the opening is 43' wide X 31 1/2" tall X 31" deep (24" wide across the back). We have high efficiency heat pump to heat and cool but if the temperature dips below 40 degrees they do not work to heat (they do have propane furnace back-up at $4.00+ per gallon). The fireplace sits in the center of our house on an interior wall in a room that is approx. 900sq/ft. The rock/brick house is approx. 2600 sq ft. with 2x6 construction with good insulation. I built this house and I believe I could install an insert. Can a wood burning insert really heat this home? If so there are so many brands and I get bogged down with going from website to website trying to figure out which one is best for my situation. Could you please give me a little guidance. Thanks!