Interesting thread (as always for preppers!) and I am surprised it took this long to mention wood as part of the plan.
We are in the process of looking for a place on acreage and ponderosa pine is abundant. I became very interested in wood fired boilers and hydronic heat only to discover that Washington State does not allow them.
Any thoughts on Russian stoves? We are hoping to get radiant heat built in (if we build) or retrofitted to the house and I have been studying them. Was not surprised to learn that a Russian stove can be set up with a water coil circulation system to feed radiant heat or hot water heater.
My dream was to get a Garn boiler that keeps 2000g of water heated for the house and hot water. Those things are very impressive and by my calculations I think they could meet the Washington State environazi standards if you ran it with well seasoned (dry) wood. Could heat well over 4000 sqft plus a shop with one.
We are going to get a generator but don’t plan on running everything. Probably our freezer, a 4 cubic foot fridge, and pumps for heat. I want to build a root cellar or cold storage room too.
Lots of stuff to think about!
I am sorry, but I am no expert. I have 2800 sq ft two story house on a full finished basement. I bought a used Blaze King stove with catalytic converter for the basement flue. I burn mostly oak and hickory, especially in cold weather; elm, ash, and some locust—no pines for burning here in the midwest. As long as the temp remains above 20F, the one stove does the whole house. On the first floor, I have an insert with blower for one of the two fireplaces. When it gets down below 20F for long periods I use it too. We had several days below 0 F last winter and my electric furnace never came on. The Blaze King stove has never failed me and I paid $400 for it. It saves me money to pay for an annual fishing trip to Yakutat, AL to bring back fish (salmon, halibut) for the family—such sacrifices are necessary.
I lived in eastern Oregon many years ago and burned my share of pine and juniper. We left because of the hostile regulations for logging and ranching. We found the Midwest far more receptive to private industry. Also lived in Idaho back in the 80s—another great place to live.