EAST BAY - As the cost of natural gas continues to rise, and uncertainty with oil and the Middle East continues to grow, more and more people in the East Bay are finding other ways to heat their homes. In January of 2000, after paying another expensive oil bill, Kathy Sharp decided she'd had enough. "I was paying a fortune for heat, yet my house was still freezing."
The Middletown resident admits she was a miser with the heat, but only because it was so expensive. "My bills were coming in at around $375 a month and I was only keeping the thermostat at around 62°F. My daughters were always complaining they were cold and it really was. But I was afraid to turn the heat on."
That's when Ms. Sharp decided it was time to look for an alternative. That alternative turned out to be a pellet stove. "I have a friend in New Jersey who swears by her pellet stove and so I thought I'd give it a try." And is she glad she did.
She did her homework and bought her stove from Ash Away Hearth & Chimney in North Dartmouth. The owner listened to what she was looking for and recommended the right stove. Then he installed it, chimney and all. It wasn't cheap. The total cost, including installation, was around $2,500. But Ms. Sharp estimates that it saves her between $400 to $500 a year. "The pellets cost $159 per ton, and I use between two and three tons a year." And, her house is now warm.
How does she like it?
"I love it," she said excitedly. "It's clean-burning, dust-free and has no smell at all. And it's easy. All you do is pour the pellets in and light it. She said the stove heats most of the house, though the bedrooms do stay cool, which she doesn't mind because it's better for sleeping.
"I still keep the thermostat set at 62°, just in case the temperature really drops. But it rarely does."
In fact, she uses so little oil, she usually has a credit on her oil bill. "The first year I had the stove, the oil company called me in a panic telling me I had to come home at once because there was a problem with the oil tank. They had come to fill it, and only four gallons would go in. They thought there was a blockage. The reality was that I had only used four gallons all winter."
In terms of safety, Ms. Sharp feels totally safe. "It doesn't feel like there's a fire in the house, like with a fireplace. I can leave it all day and come home to a warm house."
There's nothing worse than coming inside from the cold and being unable to warm up because the house is freezing, she said. But those days are long gone. "It's a different kind of heat. The warmth stays with you, it gets in your bones. I can't wait to turn it on."
A wood of a different color
Like Ms. Sharp, Wayne Marote also uses a stove to heat his home. His is just a different kind — he uses a wood stove.
"I've always loved heating with wood," the New Bedford resident said. "Sure, it's extra work stacking the wood and loading the stove, but I enjoy it. The radiant heat is wonderful — it heats all the way through to the bones. I can light it in the morning and keep it burning all day and everything's warm. Even if the power goes out we have heat, something you don't have with the pellets, which need electricity to run. Plus, my wife and I love looking at the fire, enjoying the ambiance and atmosphere."
And that's not even mentioning the savings. "Oh, yeah, I definitely do it to save money. Even if I have to shell out $500 a year for a few cords of seasoned wood, it's a huge savings." That's because heating his home with natural gas was costing him a pretty penny.
"The first year I lived in the house [1999 to 2000], I used a small, 30-gallon gas heater to power the dryer and hot water heater, and heat the small computer room in the basement. It cost me upwards of $175 a month. That was crazy. Especially since I only used it on half-capacity just to make the temperature a barely tolerable 65°F. And that was just for heating the basement room."
Today, Mr. Marote still has to spend that $175 on gas per month (his son is living in the basement for now), but uses the wood stove to heat the rest of the 1,500-square-foot house.
"I can heat the whole house for less than $300 a month; and most of that is the gas bill. If I used the gas for the whole house, it would probably cost me two or three times that. Especially since, this year, they're predicting gas prices to increase by as much as 40 percent."
Mr. Marote's stove is a brand new one — he just bought it from New England Hearth and Patio in Barrington. "The new stoves are much more efficient than the older ones. I had an antique stove here first, but it got too hot. When I turned it to low, it created a lot of creosote, which is dangerous and dirty. I wanted a smaller one that had the new clean-burn system."
The stove itself cost him around $1,500, and then he spent another $1,000 to have it installed. Experts agree it is best to have a wood stove installed professionally. This way the venting, ducts, air kits and chimney are all done right. Keeping everything and everyone safe.
For the future, Mr. Marote says he would like to install a pellet stove or solar collectors to heat the basement, saving him even more money.
Sunny days are good days
Using the sun for heat is not a new idea — for centuries people have basked in the sunshine to warm up their bodies. But, building a home specifically designed to use the sun as a heating source — or even adapting a home to accommodate one — is a whole different matter.
"There are two main ways to heat your home this way," said Robert Chew, owner of SolarWrights in Barrington. Essentially, you either use collectors mounted on the roof or in the yard to heat water or you use solar panels to heat the air. What they have in common is that they both rely on the sun.
While wood and pellets are relatively affordable ways to heat your home, solar systems are a bit more expensive, and certainly not as popular.
"It's undoubtedly a big initial investment," Mr. Chew said, "but you're essentially guaranteeing the price of electricity, gas or oil for the next 30 years." Which is why, when you buy a solar system, you're buying for the long-term benefits, not the short, he said.
Mr. Chew is designing a home for a customer in Barrington who wants a solar active system installed at a later date, but can't quite swing the price at the moment. "We're setting everything up now so that when he's ready, all we have to do is install some solar space heaters and other elements." Everything is super-efficient and ready for the system, a much easier way to go than retrofitting it later.
Gaining popularity
While there are reasons to buy a wood or pellet stove or install a solar heating system, other than the rising cost of fossil fuels (gas, oil and coal), it's certainly a driving force behind their increase in popularity.
"This year, more and more people are seeking alternative ways to heat their homes," said Bob Cabral, owner of Ash Away Hearth & Chimney in North Dartmouth. "They're fed up with the high fuel bills and want to save some money. And they're mostly looking at wood and pellet stoves."
Joe Murphy of New England Hearth & Patio in Barrington is seeing the same thing. "I have lots of customers buying wood stoves, and most tell us they just don't want to be at the mercy of the gas or oil companies any longer." Yes, his customers like the look of a wood stove, and will pay the $750 to $2,600 (plus installation) for one, but in the end they want to have some control over their bills.
It's ironic in this advanced information and technological age that so many people are turning to the basic wood stove — both cut wood and pellets — for heating.
But there are many other reasons, besides saving money, that wood stoves are a good option. Today's wood stoves are far more efficient and cleaner burning than old models. They are easier to operate, offer a view of the flames, and won't drive you outside with their uncontrolled heat. They are safer than they used to be and smaller. Plus, they are much more attractive than the old black cast-iron box — in fact, with gold-plated accents, stone inlays, different paint colors, gleaming porcelain, enamel and tile, they are downright attractive.
And, if you don't want a free-standing stove, there's always a fireplace insert. What's that? Basically, it's a free-standing stove that has been converted so it will fit into an existing masonry or factory-built fireplace. It's sealed to the room, eliminating the huge loss of heat right up the chimney. And, it utilizes the existing chimney, so there's no need to go through the wall or the roof.
In terms of environmental friendliness, wood stoves now have to comply with rigid particulate emissions standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. (Particulate is basically unburned gases from the firewood that either condense on the chimney wall where they can form creosote, or is released into the atmosphere as smoke, contributing to air pollution.
But, now, stoves burn all these gases before they leave the firebox, reducing their emissions by more than 90 percent. And, if you want to be even kinder to the environment, try a pellet stove. The pellets are made from recycled wood waste, burn so cleanly that the EPA doesn't even regulate them and are easy to feed into the stove. Another advantage is that you can control the amount of heat by adjusting the feed rate of the pellets, something you can't really do with a wood stove, since turning it down creates more creosote. However, pellet stoves do have a downside — they need a bit of electricity to operate, which could be a problem if the power goes out.
Wood stoves can heat a range of areas from 600 square feet up to 3,000 square feet. Of course, the amount of area you can heat depends on a number of variables. These include your home's size, layout, amount of insulation, ceiling height, number and size of windows, the type of stove, its placement and how you use it.
A lot to consider
Deciding to go with an alternative heating source is a big decision. Do you want to use wood or pellets, or do you want to take a totally different tack and try a solar system? Only you know which system is right for you — or, if you even want an alternative system.
No matter what you decide, take the time to research all possibilities. The salesmen at the stores are great sources, as are the Internet and your friends. And, if you like, a salesman will come to your home to help you decide how big a unit you need, where it should be located and give you an estimate.
Because he had been around wood stoves all his life, Wayne Marote knew exactly what he wanted. "The only thing I had to do was shop around for prices and once I was satisfied I had gotten the best deal, I arranged for the guy to deliver the stove and install it. Now I couldn't be happier."
While Kathy Sharp didn't have the same in-depth knowledge about stoves going in, she feels the same way. "I must have asked Bob at Ash Away a million questions, and he answered them all, educating me and directing me to the right stove for my home. I can't tell you how happy I am or how much I love it."
BY Amy E. Karlson
akarlson@eastbaynewspapers.com