Green Independance or Independantly Green

Here in South Carolina the weather has been getting a little chilly. Yes, it does get cold here. When we bought our house last April one of the things we were excited about was the wood burning stove in the living room. I grew up with both wood and coal burning stoves in our house (along with a heating oil furnace) and was excited to have one again. This also fits well with our green philosophy (keeping the green in our pockets & reducing our energy footprint). For the past month we've been able to keep our thermostat down to 65 degrees and live comfortably with the stove heating the main living areas. The cost of a cord of split dried oak wood here runs about $170 (a cord of wood measures 12ft x 8ft x 4ft stacked). Usually, I will start a fire in the morning and keep it going until lunch. It takes the chill off the house and warms up the rooms we spend most of our time in. Then, later on I will start it back up again when the sun goes down and the temperature drops again. The bedrooms do stay a bit cool but we all sleep well wrapped up in our warm blankets. As winter goes on I am sure we will have to keep it going all day long. Of course the best aspect is that it is entirely independant of the local electric grid!! Two years ago we had a major ice storm here and we lost power for a few DAYS! I was working in Florida at the time and Kimberly & the kids had to go to a makeshift shelter at the local high school for 2 days. I felt helpless 500 miles away, but now I know that we will always be able to stay warm even when the power goes out. Just add a camping stove to cook on and we can ride out anything!

I'll keep you posted as to how long a cord of wood lasts us. I would love to hear any other ideas you have about reducing your energy bill in the winter. What are your tricks?

Intersting links I found on the web about wood stoves and other non-electric sources.

Heating with wood FAQs
How to operate a wood stove efficiantly
Energy fuel comparison calculator
Geothermal heating systems
A Canadian website about green heating