Posted on 03/18/2014 5:25:45 AM PDT by thackney
Wood as a main heating source in homes has gained popularity in many areas of the country in recent years, but the increase is most notable in the Northeast. All nine states in the New England and the Middle Atlantic Census divisions saw at least a 50% jump from 2005 to 2012 in the number of households that rely on wood as the main heating source. As the use of fuel oil and kerosene in this region has declined in recent years, many households have turned to lower-cost alternatives, including wood.
In total, about 2.5 million households (2.1%) across the country use wood as the main fuel for home heating, up from 1.9 million households (1.7%) in 2005. An additional 9 million households (7.7%) use wood as a secondary heating fuel. This combination of main and secondary heating accounts for about 500 trillion British thermal units (Btu) of wood consumption per year in the residential sector, or about the same as propane consumption and slightly less than fuel oil consumption.
Heating stoves are the most common equipment used by households that rely on wood as the main source of heat, and fireplaces are the most common choice for secondary wood heating. Most households still burn split logs, although wood pellet use has risen in recent years. And while households in higher income brackets are more likely to use wood, those at lower income levels who burn wood consume more on average.
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed updated emissions standards for new wood-burning stoves and other biomass heating equipment. Although these proposed rules address health concerns associated with the release of fine particulates from burning wood, the standards would also result in increased efficiency levels of new wood-burning equipment.
Obama promised to make electricity prices "skyrocket" and towards that end he closed dozens of NE power plants.
Now people can only afford to burn wood and/or (this keeps geting better) coal!
“Main source?? Somehow I doubt that.”
Really? You doubt it why? It’s the main source in our home in South-Western Virginia. We have a small kerosene monitor in the kitchen and wood stove in the living room. That’s it...and our small log home stays so warm we turn the monitor off a large percentage of the time.
Wood burning stoves and wood pellet stoves are all over here in upstate NY. We are supposed to get another polar vortex next week, yippy!
So in a few short years the countryside will be stripped bare, like Ireland.
Nice going, Environmentalists!
My brother who heats his home with wood burned a little coal this winter in NE Ohio.
He is ordering several tons delivered this summer.
I have a masonry fireplace in my house. The best I can say of it is that it greatly reduces the load on the main central heating unit. If it was the “main” heating source in the house, there’d be some might cold rooms.
Some industry insider information...
The new EPA regs that kick in for 2015 are only a starting point. If you read the actual language, all of the woodburners (even the phase 2 qualified ones) will be illegal to manufacture and sell in about a five year time frame.
The industry will not have any viable test standards for qualifying their stoves since the standards are concocted by a bureaucracy and are not based on any scientific facts.
The end result will be black-market oil-drum burners and the like. Less efficient and more pollution. More deaths to carbon monoxide.
Brilliant!
What is your main central heating unit? Is it in a basement?
And the gubmint do gooders want to ban all use of wood as a heating source due to “air pollution”. The ban would include wood stoves, fireplaces, meat smokers, outside bbq’s that generate SMOKE, etc.
It won’t happen out here in the Wisconsin north woods, we will continue doing our thing which is generating SMOKE.
Yes. It’s the standard suburbanite central heat/air unit. Natgas.
The technology is available to burn wood cleanly and efficiently, why would they want to stop it???
In my opinion it has nothing to do with wood, but the control of those who are willing to be self sufficient.
If desired, you can put a wood burner next to the gas furnace and use the same duct work to deliver heat to all the rooms.
That is how we did the home I grew up in, the oil furnace stayed in service. We just set the oil temp down to 55°F as a backup to the wood in case we were gone too long.
It really worked well, but there was a learning curve. The first winter we overloaded the wood at mild temperatures. The house got to +80° while it was 25° outside. Had to open up the windows a few times until we learned to set the temp controlled damper better.
I will use pellets for 80% of my heat.
The oil burner only comes on when the temperature drops below 20°
Considering pulling the pellet insert out and replacing it with coal. We have had some pellet shortages around here lately as oil hit $4. and March hit 10°F
I’m not saying it doesn’t exist...I’m saying that they have created some stats ONLY for the purpose of regulating stoves. Follow the money!!
I high tailed it back to AZ where i only need AC two or three months out of the year.
Keeping a home heated in the Hunger Games world our elites have planned for us is going to become harder and harder. I guess so you willingly move into the 500 sq foot apartment ala Scandinavia.
I can see it coming. If something isn’t done,the bureaucrats will keep improving the environment until it’s completely ruined everything.
Given that LP gas doubled this heating season costing me $2,000 MORE, it’s a simple and logical decision to add a wood stove so I don’t have to be held hostage to things beyone my control. I know how to cut a tree and split wood and it’s free on my land. I think our energy policy, or lackthereof, is forcing this decision.
It’s a CRIME that America doesn’t produce more energy for domestic consumption AND to keep prices lower.
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