Outdoor Wood Furnaces Can Lower Heating Costs
You must be careful when selecting the outdoor wood furnace. Not every one is made the same. Each manufacturer claims to have the best furnace on the market. You have to choose the best outdoor wood furnace for your specific needs. You also need to know the work involved in using and maintaining this type of furnace. Outdoor wood furnaces come in different sizes and vary in price. You will also want to ensure proper installation of the outdoor wood furnace.
You must look at every aspect of the outdoor wood furnace when choosing the right model. Here is a list of what to look for when comparing furnaces.
Heating Capacity: This can be difficult with the outdoor wood furnace because of many variable. The dryness of the wood, the hardness of the wood, the outside temperature, the location of the furnace, and much more can affect how much heat the furnace actually puts out. It is best to review the actual test reports than to rely on the manufacturers spec sheet. Actual BTU's can not accurately be listed. You can get a good idea of what the furnace will produce with the test reports.
Efficiency: Efficiency can be determined by the type of wood you can burn. Hard woods that are well seasoned (dried) will burn longer and with greater heat. A furnace that allows you to burn several types of wood is better than one which limits your choices.
Chimney Length: The outdoor wood furnace needs a long chimney to allow air to pass over the fire to keep it burning well. The problem is the chimney length can also be a liability due to creosote build up. It is best to find a furnace which does not have extra chimney length.
Construction: The outdoor wood furnace which is made of stainless steel is less susceptible to rust and corrosion. Being an outdoor furnace, the elements will affect the surface. Maintenance will be necessary to keep the furnace in proper working order. Some manufacturers claim to have stainless steel construction. It is the grade of steel which will ensure a low maintenance furnace. Choose one that is constructed of a high grade steel.
This is just a general overview of the outdoor wood furnace. By researching a little more, you should be able to make an educated decision about which furnace you might choose to help lower your heating bill.
Published by Julie Richards
Richards is a freelance writer living in rural Ohio. She has written numerous e-books on art, real estate and meditation. Richards topic content include gardening, cooking and home improvement. Richards spec... View profile
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21 Comments
Post a CommentYou left out the part where the EPA has determined that OWBs emit about 20 times more pollution than a standard indoor wood stove and as a result many states are either banning them or putting strict restrictions in place. Because the unit sits on the ground, and the chimney is low in height, the pollution spreads to the surrounding neighborhood.
Nicely done piece.
The problem is this as quoted by the U.S. EPA:
"Current outdoor wood-fired heaters are substantially less efficient and more polluting than other home-heating devices."
That pretty much sums it up. An OWB creates on average 72 g/hr of pm 2.5 particulate matter as compared to other forms of heating (even with wood) of:
OWB = 72 g/hr
Conventional Wood Stove = 18 g/hr
EPA Certified Stove = 6 g/hr
Oil Furnace = 0.07 g/hr
Gas Furnace = 0.04 g/hr
Secondly, these DON'T I repeat DON'T save a person money. These cost around at minimum $10,000 to install and operate before you even throw your first log on the fire? So when someone claims "I can't afford my bills" well they sure could afford $10,000 to buy on of these monstrosities. I know I don't have $10,000 to throw down on anything much less, something like this.
So don't believe the "I'm so poor I can't heat my home" argument because it is all bogus.
So in closing would you want this across from your house? Prob
Nice job on this article. It looks like it could be a promising way to control heating costs as long as local pollution laws allow you to burn outside.
Great information! I already know several people doing this who swear by it as a huge cost savings.
Great subject idea and coverage!
My electric bill was huge this winter! The house I rent has a water boiler, but it's powered by electricity, rather than propane or fuel oil. My electricity bill monthly was higher than my rent, even with help from LI-HEAP. The house I grew up in had a wood burner in the basement. We didn't use it much unless the power went out, but it smelled great and really warmed up the house. This outdoor wood burner is a great alternative. Thanks Julie!
We rarely need to use the heater. I could see this as a solution for further north though. Nice work!
Very good discussion, useful article and well written.
Wow guys, thanks for all the nice comments.