5 Reasons to Replace Your Electric Heat with a Wood Stove

When you live in the country or the forest, you can tap into the electric grid for heat, but there’s a better option: a wood stove. There are countless reasons wood stoves are superior to electric heaters:

1. You Won’t Be Affected In a Grid-Down Situation

Being independent during a grid-down situation makes wood stoves superior to electric heat. Not only will a wood stove heat your home, but you can also cook on the surface of your stove. Some wood stoves have built-in cooktops that allow you to use multiple “burners” to boil water or cook in a pan in designated spots.

When the power grid goes down, being independent will make your life easier. For instance, imagine building a fire to keep warm and cook at the same time. It’s easier than building and tending two separate fires to achieve both goals.

Without a wood stove, you can use a propane-powered camp stove to cook, but you’ll have to use it outside and buy fuel. In a grid-down situation, propane is one of the first items to fly off the shelves. When you have a wood stove, your firewood will fuel your heat source and your cooking needs.

2. Firewood Is Cheap When You Plan Correctly

If you’re keeping up on the price of firewood, you’re probably seeing around $250 per full cord for dry, seasoned, split fir. Hardwoods like maple, oak, hickory, and birch will cost more – up to $350 in some areas.

Green firewood, on the other hand, tends to sell for around $175 per full cord for most species, hard and soft. These prices make firewood seem expensive, considering some people blast through a cord or two each month.

Although the price for a cord of firewood seems high, firewood becomes cheap when you do the following:

• Buy your own logs to split
• Buy only full cords, not rick/face cords or truck bed loads
• Buy green wood and let it season on your property
• Find a source that requires you to load your own vehicle or trailer
• Insulate your home, so you don’t have to burn as much wood
• Add radiant heating elements to your home
• Install ductwork to move the heat through your home
• Use a wood stove fan to distribute the heat
• Use a soapstone wood stove
• Use smaller pieces of wood to create a better fire
• Retrofit a catalytic converter in your wood stove
• Burn only truly seasoned firewood

With the right setup and planning, it’s possible to get through an entire winter with low temperatures using just a couple full cords of wood. If you pay $250 per cord and use two cords, that’s $500. If the cold weather lasts four months, the $500 spent on wood will be less than half of what you’d pay for electric heating.

3. Wood Stoves Aren’t Prone To Technical Malfunctions

Sometimes electrical appliances stop working out of nowhere. That won’t really happen with a wood stove. You’ll need to clear out the ash, clean the chimney, and keep the gaskets in good repair. However, you won’t have to worry about your heat source shutting down in a split second when a wire breaks or a circuit board malfunctions.

There’s something to be said about old technology. Our civilization has come a long way with our technological inventions, but sometimes basic is better. When it comes to heating your home, basic heat from a fire is the most reliable form of heat you can get.

4. Wood Stoves Look Great

In addition to keeping you warm for less money than electric heat, wood stoves just look good in your home. Having a wood stove in the corner makes a home look cozy, even in the summer months.

Having a wood stove also gives guests the impression that you’re not lazy. With electric heat, you only need to push a button or turn a dial. With a wood stove, you have to cut, split, and stack firewood. Even when you get wood delivered, there’s plenty of work involved in keeping your home warm.

5. Learning How To Build a Fire Is a Great Skill To Have

Knowing how to build a fire is one of the most useful skills anyone can acquire. You never know when you’ll need to build a fire for survival.

a Fireplace Isn’t Enough – You Need a Wood Stove

Don’t count on your fireplace heating your home – it won’t. To heat your home, you need a wood stove. Once you learn how to build a good fire in a wood stove, you’ll never go back to electric heat.