Ripple Effect: Uncertain prices 'fuel' return to heating basics
By Darlene Ramos
Correspondent
Sunday, November 2, 2008 7:08 AM CST
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In addition to pellet stoves, Dale Amundson, owner of Great American Homes and Fireplace in Menomonie, (above) also carries high efficiency woodstoves like this one that also deliver plenty of BTUs for their size. He points out that they’re especially ideal for homeowners who own a wood lot or have a ready source of firewood.
Photo by Barbara Lyon/Dunn County News
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Tony Gunderson (above) of Hurlburt Heating and Plumbing in Durand points out that outdoor wood-burning furnaces can heat both a house and a garage and provide a hot water source as well.
Patrick Milliren/For Dunn County News
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The business of saving money also makes money. And so it is with the booming business of pellet and wood-burning stoves and furnaces.
In the face of rising fuel prices, energy-conscious consumers are intent on lowering their home-heating costs — and accommodating these customers is also helping local stove dealerships flourish. Stories from both sides are resoundingly positive.
“We are having a hard time keeping up with orders for pellet stoves,” said Dale Amundson of Great American Homes and Fireplace in north Menomonie. “When one considers that the operation of a wood pellet stove is 50 percent cheaper than propane, 70 percent cheaper than fuel oil and 30 percent cheaper than natural gas, it’s easy to see why.”
Pellet stoves require only simple venting, and operation is so safe that with proper installation, insurance companies regard them as nearly a non-issue, said Amundson.
“And wood pellets are created from wood scrap, sawdust even, with plenty of manufacturing springing up in this part of the country,” he said. “That should keep availability and affordability fairly stable — the cost right now for a 40-pound bag of wood pellets is about $4.30, with corn running higher at $7 a bag.”
Both kinds of pellets burn and perform at about the same rate, although corn involves slightly more maintenance.
“Most of the stoves we sell are multi-fuel so whenever one fuel becomes the better buy, switching is an option,” Amundson said. “For now, burning corn makes the best sense for farmers or those who otherwise have good access to an affordable and ongoing supply of corn.”
Dennis and Susan Minter of Boyceville recently purchased a multi-fuel stove from Amundson.
“It is a warm, cozy heat, very comfortable,” Dennis said. “On average, we burn about one bag each day and at that pace, expect to save about $1,000 over the heating season, depending on how the winter goes. We usually ‘rest’ it for the time it takes to clean it. So far this has been an easy enough job, with the residue amounting to just a handful or so.”
Word of mouth
Mike and Bernie Zutter own and operate the Elk Mound Seed and Farm Supply. Pellet stoves are a part of their business, and sales have been very brisk, Mike said.
“I sold two this morning and am delivering another one tomorrow,” he said. “We heat our showroom with a pellet stove and when people see it performing, they are sold. Our very best salespeople are those who become owners themselves — they are the greatest advertisers we could hope for.”
In sync with those words, Amundson reported that he has sold the allotment of pellet stoves he purchased last summer.
“I ran out of the number the company would sell to one dealer, and I am now expecting a new order from another source,” he said.
The stoves Amundson sold were priced at $2,100. He regrets he could not find other comparable stoves at that price and expects the next models will price out at about $2,800.
Abundant source
“They will still pay for themselves, but more than ever, there are other good reasons to consider alternative fuels,” he said. “I wasn’t one to hop quickly onto the ‘green’ bandwagon, but it isn’t at all hard to see that we have to help our children’s futures in regard to resources, besides the fact that this nation needs to reduce our dependence on foreign fuel.”
With abundant Wisconsin woodlands and a generous number of property owners who manage their own woodlots, wood-burning stoves are still also a popular sell,” Amundson added.
There is more involved in their installation — the chimney and indoor piping, clearances and heat shields,” he explained. “But for those who own their own woodlands, the extra effort makes perfect sense. And there are some woodstoves still being made that require no electricity of any sort, so that in a power outage, there is a continued source of heat.”
New technology
Amundson added that with today’s technologies in stove design, staying warm by the wood-burner can be enjoyed without the environmental concerns of past decades. Secondary burn chambers virtually burn the wood twice, he said, so that only very little residual ash is left. EPA standards have led to designs that reduce very efficiently the amount of pollutants entering the atmosphere.
Although outdoor wood-burning units have restrictions for in-town use, John Weber of Hurlburt Heating and Plumbing in Durand, said there are good reasons for their continued popularity. Indoor wood-burning furnaces remain popular as well.
“Obviously these are great for country property owners, those who have a good supply of wood all the time,” he said. “Outdoor furnaces keep any developing smoke issues out of the house, as well as messy clean-up.
Lightening the load
“They cut down on load times; homeowners only have to fill up once or twice in a day,” Weber added. “Insurance companies look more favorably on them, of course. And one unit can heat more than just the house. We have people who also heat a garage and/or a shed, too.”
Weber noted that installations for outdoor systems run from $9,000 to $12,000.
“There is a boiler and pump and underground piping that takes the heat to wherever it needs to go,” Weber explained. “These units can also provide the hot water source for the home, so it does more than one job and the larger the area it serves, the faster the unit pays for itself.”
Wood-burning furnaces that are installed within a home also cut down on load times and installation is more affordable. Drawbacks are the same as with other indoor wood-fired heating units, but the benefit of heating the household water supply does compensate. In any case, Weber noted, the best candidates for wood-fired units are those who have free and continual access to the fuel.
From the earth
Geothermal heating (and cooling) pays back in both winter and summer, but it is perhaps one of the costliest methods that utilizes an alternative energy source.
Jerene Larson, owner of Happy Earth Furnaces in Knapp, installs these systems. Prices vary from about $7,000 for a smaller home to as much as $30,000 for larger quarters.
“A geothermal system takes heat from the ground to warm a house, and in summer it takes heat from the house and takes it to the ground,” Larson explained. “So it is the heating and cooling system altogether. Every dollar spent on this system relates to $4 worth of energy costs saved. And there is little, if any, pollution factor. Geothermal utilizes heat that is always present in the ground.”
The factors that go into consideration of how to cut heating costs are as varied as the options available.
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For information that suits individual needs, any of these local sources welcome further inquiry:
Great American Fireplaces, Menomonie at (715) 231-3262
Hurlburt Heating and Plumbing, Durand at 1-800-944-1981
Earth Happy Furnaces, Knapp at (715) 233-6225
Elk Mound Seed and Farm Supply, Elk Mound (715)879-5556
Note: Readers should also inquire with their own insurance agency before purchasing any alternative fuel units.
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jts wrote on Nov 3, 2008 11:40 AM: