How do you heat your home during winter? Do you use central heat, a pellet stove, or do you burn wood? Well, I want to share with you a few benefits of heating your home with wood.
When we first began heating our home with wood, I was the paranoid type. See, I had grown up in the city, and all I had ever really known was central heat. So when my husband bought a wood stove, I was a little skeptical at first. I was concerned about all of the dangers of heating with wood.
However, after I did my research and learned how to burn wood responsibly, I am now a believer of supplementing the heat in my home with wood.
Here is why you might love it too:
1. Makes You Self-Reliant
I love the fact that every fall we go and cut wood. Now, we don’t always just go out in the wild and hack a tree down.
However, we do collect our own wood, and I love that I don’t have to worry about some power company to know that my family will be warm over the winter.
Even if you have central heat, know that burning wood is great in helping offset the costs of heating your home.
Plus, it is great to keep you warm on those brutally cold winter nights, too.
2. It Supports Your Neighbor
Let’s say you aren’t up to cutting wood. Well, the great news is that other people will do it for you.
If you have the extra cash, then know that your neighbor might be in need of it. Which means they’d be happy to go cut wood for you.
Remember, there are people out there that make their winter money partially by selling truckloads of wood.
Instead of supporting corporations, you can actually support your local economy if you use firewood and purchase it from someone local.
3. Warmer Heat
I remember when I first moved to the rural part of North Carolina that I presently live in. My mother-in-law told me to be prepared for cold winters and hot summers.
However, she also told me that nothing would keep me warm quite like wood heat. Boy, was she right!
See, our first year here we rented a little old farmhouse a few miles from where our homestead is now.
And this little home had very little insulation. You could hear the wind whip through the bedrooms on winter nights.
So we purchased an Eden Pure Heater (which helped drastically), and we had gas logs.
However, I tell you, they did not keep us warm like our woodstove does now. We were really cold.
When we bought our new home, we made it one winter with a basic fireplace that was really more decorative than anything. The next winter my husband bought a wood stove, and we have been as warm as we can be ever since.
4. Saves Your Lots of Moola
Most people I know dread winter. They hate the shorter days, they don’t care for the cold, and most hate the increase in their electricity bill.
However, I’m the total opposite. I don’t mind the extra rest (at first.) By February I’m usually going stir crazy. I really don’t mind the cold. We do a lot of our heavier outdoor projects during the winter because we don’t sweat as much.
However, my favorite part about winter is that my electricity bill drops drastically. The reason is that heating my home with wood saves my central heat from running a lot.
If you’d like to save some money over the winter while staying warm, then heating with wood can definitely help you with that.
5. It Is Multipurpose
Heating your home with wood is great for keeping your house warm. However, did you know that you can do a lot more than just heat your home up?
Yes, you can help save the lifespan of your appliances as well. Meaning if you like having coffee in the morning, then don’t bother turning on your coffee pot.
Instead, buy yourself a percolator and make coffee on your woodstove. Do you like soup or pinto beans?
Well, don’t worry about firing up your stove to cook them. Instead, place them in a cast iron pot and cook them on your woodstove or next to your fireplace.
Even if you like tea or hot chocolate, you can use your wood stove or fireplace to warm up your water to enjoy your favorite hot beverage.
Wood heat does a lot more than just warm your home. It can also help you to efficiently feed your family healthy foods.
Plus, it can save you money by saving the lifespan of your appliances as well.
6. Supports a Healthy Lifestyle
If you burn wood to keep your family warm and fed over the winter, then chances are you cut your own wood.
Now, you can cut your wood with an ax or by using a chainsaw and wood splitter. Either way, you are going to be an active person.
And this is a great thing. We all know that cardio exercise is what helps us to keep a healthy heart. It also helps to build strong muscles. If you watch some of the Alaskan shows on TV, you’ll see that some of the most buff people are the ones that cut their own wood.
Doesn’t that sound great? And yes, you could just go to the gym, but chopping your own wood will save you the gym membership, it will help you to be active without feeling like you are exercising, and it helps you accomplish something while being active.
If you need good exercise, then chop and burn wood for your winter heat. It will keep you active and healthy.
However, be sure to check with your doctor before chopping your own wood. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
8. It Keeps You Prepared for an Emergency
Do you like to be prepared for the unknown? Do you like being prepared in case an emergency hits?
Well, if so, then the idea of burning wood should appeal to you. The reason is that it doesn’t matter if you have electricity or not, your family will be warm and can eat a hot meal.
In an honest effort to be transparent, this is what sold me on a wood stove. One summer we had a really bad windstorm blow through our area.
Naturally, it took down a lot of trees. Still, because we are so rural, it took almost a week to get the electricity back on.
However, we didn’t have a wood stove at that time. Thankfully, we had a gas grill that I could still cook on because we couldn’t even get off of our road from all of the trees that were down. My husband and boys worked daily to remove them, but they couldn’t get the trees cleaned up fast enough.
If we hadn’t had that gas grill and food put away, I don’t know what we would’ve done. Needless to say, I was sold on the idea of a wood stove after that event because I could’ve had a stove regardless if I had electricity or not.
Burning wood and having a place to do so is very helpful in the event of an emergency.
Heating Options
You might be sold on the idea of burning wood, but what are your wood-burning options? And what about people with lung issues that burning wood makes it hard for them to breathe?
Do they have options for heat other than traditional heat?
Well, you bet they do! Here are the most common heating options:
1. A Fireplace
A fireplace is probably one of the most traditional ways to heat your home with wood. It is an open space made with fire brick so that you can safely contain the fire.
And a lot of people really do love their fireplace. My parents have a huge one with a marble hearth, and they absolutely love it. It is not only beautiful, but it does a great job of heating their home.
2. A Wood Stove
A wood stove is a cast-iron stove that has a door on it. The danger with a woodstove is that they get very hot all the way around.
If you have small children, it is important they know to never touch it or play around it. However, they are great at keeping your home very warm, and I love that they have a door on them to keep the wood in place. We have one, and I am so glad that we do. It is beautiful and great at providing heat (and cooking space.)
3. A Pellet Stove
If you are someone that has breathing issues, then a pellet stove might be a good solution for you. They don’t put off the odor that burning regular wood does.
Plus, they don’t bring a large mess with them (like a fireplace and wood stove do because of the traditional wood.) They burn pellets of compressed wood. It is a very efficient way to heat, and this video shows you how to still be self-sustained if using a pellet stove by creating your own pellets.
4. Solar Power
My family and I are in the process of beginning to switch over to solar power. I will keep my woodstove, but right now, we are just trying to supplement our electrical use before we go completely off the grid.
However, though solar power is an investment, it is a great way to heat your home using your central heating system. Yet, you are powering it with the sun. It will save you money and if you have the battery option included in your solar power set-up, then your house will still be fully functional in the event of an emergency.
You can purchase your solar set-up for a DIY experience and you can also learn about going solar.
5. Gas Insert
In my opinion, wood heat is probably the warmest heat available. However, you can place a gas log insert into your fireplace and heat your home with gas. We did this for one winter and considering our home had no insulation, it felt great.
However, I’m really a wood-burning girl. If you are not, or you have breathing issues then you might have to consider this option. It is a great way to stay warm without running up your electric bill.
Well, there you have it guys. Those are all of the benefits of heating your home with wood this winter. Plus, a few other options for heating your home without using a lot of electricity.
So go ahead and think it over. If you decide to go with one of these options, I’m sure your bank account will thank you. Yes, it takes a little investment to get going, but in my opinion, it is money well spent. It was for us, at least.
