Rising heating oil prices and dire forecasts predicting the most expensive heating season ever have left many local homeowners feeling anything but warm and fuzzy, with some scrambling to find cheaper ways to heat.

The good news is that there are options to heating with oil or natural gas, which tends to rise in price as oil does. Most of the alternatives require a hefty up-front investment, though.

But first, to the grim math facing homeowners as winter approaches:

The average cost of home heating oil in Massachusetts this past week was $3.91 a gallon, according to the state Department of Energy Resources survey. That's up 26 percent from the same week last year and up 44 percent from the previous year.

Put another way, filling a 275-gallon oil tank at the current average price costs a whopping $1,078, a budget-busting $220 increase from this time last year.

The U.S. Energy Information Agency predicted in a report released early this month that this winter will be the most expensive heating season on record for people who heat with oil or propane.

Richard and Mary Clark of Rutland no longer have to fret about that, though.

They had their old propane heating system ripped out in October in favor of a geothermal system that taps into the natural heat of the Earth underground.

“We had thought about solar or some form of heat like that to reduce our costs overall, and we've been thinking about it for some time, going back and forth with it,” Mr. Clark said. “We thought something like this would work, and it has.”

Mr. Clark said he set his thermostat at 68 degrees after the new system was installed last month and his house has remained within a degree of that temperature ever since. While the system will add to his electric bill to run a sophisticated heat pump, he will never have to buy a drop of oil, propane or natural gas for heating as long as he lives in the house.

Even in the most frigid of winters, the temperature below about eight feet underground holds steady at 51 degrees. Fluid running through a closed loop of pipes snaking deep into the ground soak up that heat and bring it to the surface, where it is extracted and concentrated by a geothermal heat pump, explained Chris Marengo, owner of Off the Grid CS Inc. in Leicester, which designed and installed the Clarks' system.

The system works in the reverse, carrying heat from the house down into the ground, in the summertime.

“The typical person who burns $3,000 a year in oil will pay about $440 a year to heat and cool their home with geothermal,” Mr. Marengo said.

There's just one catch, and it's a big one: the cost of retrofitting a house for geothermal heating and cooling can cost tens of thousands of dollars, Mr. Marengo said.

Mr. Clark said the investment made financial sense for him because he has owned his house for two decades and has no intention of ever moving.

“It's expensive, but overall, we've estimated that we'll recover the cost in five or six years,” he said.

Maryann Wood of Holden had a geothermal system installed at her house several years ago. While the system isn't large enough to completely supplant her old furnace in the dead of winter, her annual oil consumption has dropped from about 1,100 gallons to less than 400 gallons, she said.

Taking into account energy efficiency tax credits, she expected to recoup the cost of the geothermal system in seven years.

“We're ahead of schedule and really pleased,” she said. “I couldn't see the price of oil ever coming down for long, so I started looking at what else we could do.”

Mr. Marengo said some of his customers, for whom a geothermal retrofit is out of financial reach, have instead installed solar panels designed, not to generate electricity, but to heat up air in a network of small ducts. The heated air is then circulated into the house by a motorized blower.

The system doesn't work when the sun isn't shining, of course, but it can help minimize the amount of oil a homeowner has to buy at nearly $4 a gallon and climbing. Such systems start at several thousand dollars, he said.

Industry statistics indicate a rising number of homeowners also are trying to cut down on the amount of heating oil they use by installing wood or pellet stoves, which can stand alone or be inserted into traditional fireplaces.

From April to June this year, shipments from manufacturers to retailers of wood stove inserts, pellet stoves and pellet stove inserts shot up 32 percent, 59 percent and 72 percent, respectively, according to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association.

“This year has been a busy year,” confirmed Ron Higgins, president of Higgins Energy Alternatives in Barre. “People are certainly concerned about the increased cost of fuel oil, so we're seeing a spike of people coming in to see what they could do to save some money on heating.”

Wood and pellet stoves are designed to capture and circulate much more of the heat from a fire than logs burning in a traditional fireplace, a case in which most of the heat is lost up the chimney. The cost of wood and pellet stoves range from about $2,000 to $4,000, not including installation, which typically runs another few thousand dollars depending on the situation, Mr. Higgins said.

For a pellet stove, the most efficient of the hearth products, an average user burns about a bag of wood pellets a day. That works out to around three tons, or roughly $750, a year, he said.

“So for less than one tank of oil, you can be toasty warm all winter with a pellet stove. The savings can be significant,” Mr. Higgins said.

For those with wood stoves or traditional fireplaces, new compressed saw dust bricks and logs on the market burn longer, cleaner and are more energy dense than cord wood.

Steven Lanata, one of the owners of BioPellet LLC in Connecticut, said his company has sold out of BioBricks compressed sawdust blocks through February and into March.

“It's insane. I get calls all day with dealers screaming at me. ‘Where's my truckload?' We run our plant seven days a week, and we still can't keep up this year,” Mr. Lanata said.

The bricks weigh about two pounds each and are made of kiln-dried sawdust with no glues or chemical binders. The average burn time is an hour a brick, Mr. Lanata said.

Similar products in the form of artificial logs also have been selling well here, Mr. Higgins said.

One other heating alternative, one originally intended to compete with oil on environmental grounds, may soon cost less too.

People have long been converting used cooking oil from restaurants into biodiesel fuel for trucks and other diesel vehicles, but the converted cooking oil also will burn in oil furnaces without any modification of the equipment, noted Sarah Assefa and Scott Guzman of the Empower Energy Coop in Worcester.

The coop has been making and selling biodiesel in the city on a small scale for years. The eco-friendly product currently sells for $4 a gallon, but Empower has no plans to raise the price in the foreseeable future, while the price of fuel oil is expected to continue to rise this winter.

The self-described social entrepreneurs collect used cooking oil from more than two-dozen restaurants around the city, pumping it into barrels which they load onto a pickup truck for transport.

“Then we filter it and process it,” Mr. Guzman said. “Processing includes drying it out to remove any water. We mix it and heat it with two chemicals, potassium hydroxide and methanol. Those are both things found in nature that can be made from wood.”

Empower Energy has the capacity to make about 400 gallons of biodiesel a month now, but Ms. Assefa said the coop is working to increase its capacity over the next year.

While some oil companies now add small amounts of biodiesel to petroleum-based fuel oil to reduce pollution, it might one day be possible for people to heat their homes with oil burners using only biodiesel – and to save money while doing it.

If you are looking for class and style then look no further than Napoleon stoves. With a size to fit any room, glass windows for a perfect picturesque flame view and cast iron look, one of these beautifully designed stoves are sure to catch your eye. Ranging from black to a subdued brown and your choice of pedestal or four-legged design, everyone is sure to find a model to suit their taste.

Napoleon Stoves Come in Various Fuel Types

Being confined to one fuel source is not a concern for Napoleon stoves. They offer models in all three of the most popular fuel sources gas, wood and pellet. There is also no reason to suffer from a lack of design choice just because you prefer a certain fuel type. They offer large selection of the best styles no matter your fuel preference. Visit them today at www.woodstoves-fireplaces.com to view their selection.

We spend, on average, roughly 90% of our time indoors, where concentrations of pollutants can be up to five times higher than they are outdoors. For those of us burning wood indoors, this can be particularly concerning, but the good news is that by using a wood stove rather than an open fireplace, you’re already breathing in far fewer pollutants, and many of the steps you take to keep your stove eco-friendly will also help minimize the level of pollutants in your home. That said, it’s important to be aware of the effects of wood smoke and what you can do to improve your indoor air quality when you use a wood stove.

The Effects Of Burning Wood In The Home

When we breathe in wood smoke, we inhale pollutants and small particles, which can cause irritation to the lungs and eyes, and exacerbate breathing difficulties like bronchitis and asthma. Heavy exposure in the long term can lead to heart difficulties and reduced lung function, particularly in infants and older adults.

There are a few steps you can take to reduce the amount of toxins you breathe in from wood smoke. Improving filtration and ventilation is key , as this exchanges stale air for fresh air. Air conditioning systems filter indoor air to remove airborne particles , and some also act as air purifiers - make sure you understand the parts and functions of your unit, and install air purifiers if yours doesn’t have one. Clean HEPA filters regularly, and monitor the air quality with an indoor air monitor, which will alert you if there’s a reduction of the quality of the air in your home.

Keep Your Wood Stove Clean And Well-Maintained

Ensure that your wood stove is certified by the EPA - modern stoves are cleaner and more efficient, and this certification is required, but if you’re using a very old stove, it may be time to upgrade. Modern stoves burn less wood than older stoves, and reduce the amount of wood smoke emitted.

Ensure that any air leaks are sealed and insulated, and have your stove serviced regularly. The chimney, too, should be swept once a year to clear out creosote and pollutants. As well as keeping your air quality at its best, this will ensure the safety of your stove.

Using Your Stove For Optimum Air Quality

To keep pollutants to a minimum, burn only dry, natural wood. Damp wood doesn’t burn as easily, and will produce much more smoke , as well as generating less heat. Stack split wood off the ground for six months to a year to season it, keeping it covered with plenty of room for air flow. Cracking at the ends of the logs will show you when the wood is dry. Dry wood should also make a hollow sound when two logs are knocked against each other. You can use a moisture meter to check that the wood is dry enough - moisture content should have dropped to 15-20% before burning.

When you’re building your fire, stack larger logs at the bottom, followed by smaller logs topped with sticks or wood chips. When you’re lighting the stove, light the top of the pile. Keep the fire hot, as this produces a cleaner fire with little visible smoke.

Because a wood stove keeps the fire contained, it causes far less problems for indoor air quality than an open fireplace. However, in order to keep the air quality of your home as clean as possible, it’s important to keep your stove well maintained and pay attention to the moisture content of the wood you’re burning. Doing this will also reduce the stove’s environmental impact, and keep it burning at its most efficient level.

Bishop, CA – Residents of Inyo, Mono and Alpine counties who are currently relying on old woodstoves or open fireplaces to heat their homes may qualify for a new program recently launched by the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District. Targeting old wood burning devices that burn inefficiently and emit high levels of unhealthy smoke throughout the region, the Air District’s new ”Woodstove Replacement Program” is aggressively targeting these old heating systems with funding for new, EPA-compliant replacements.

According to Ted Schade, the Air District’s Air Pollution Control Officer, “Because smoke from old woodstoves is emitted in our communities, where we live, work and play, it is a source of air pollution that that impacts the health of all District residents, but it especially impacts our children and the elderly. Great Basin’s Woodstove Replacement Program will improve air quality and allow homes to be heated more efficiently.”

As part of the Air District’s larger’ Clean Air Projects Program’ (CAPP), the new Woodstove Replacement Program was approved earlier this month with $1.1 million to provide cleaner heating systems throughout the District, which encompasses Inyo, Mono and Alpine counties. Qualified residents must live within this territory (including tribal lands) and be currently relying on a 1990 or older wood burning system or open fireplace as their main heating source (pellet, gas and kerosene systems do not qualify). Low-to-no cost replacement choices include new, EPA-certified, free standing wood or pellet stoves, wood and pellet inserts, and propane or kerosene heating systems.

Funding is limited to a ‘first come, first served’ basis. All interested, qualified Air District residents are encouraged to immediately contact a local woodstove and heating equipment retailer for more information. To find a list of participating retailers, go to CAPP’s weblink at http://capp.gbuapcd.org. Additionally, with invaluable assistance from the Bishop Post Office and Postmaster Alicia Wendt, several thousand postcards have also been mailed to Air District addresses advertising the Woodstove Replacement Program noting the list of participating retailers.

Everyone should be advised that funding will run out quickly for this popular program. However, all names and contact information of qualified residents will be saved for future notification when more funds become available.

When you are selecting Napoleon wood stoves for use in your home, you will want to measure the area first. All wood stove require proper clearance on all sides which needs to be kept open at all times. This clearance is the area where higher temperatures are given off, and can create fire hazards when the stove is placed too close to walls or furniture. Once you find the model you like, check the clearance specifications to ensure it will properly fit into the room where it will be installed.

Flat Topped Napoleon Wood Stoves Can Be Used for Cooking

Certain models of Napoleon wood stoves have flat tops which can be used for cooking purposes, if you desire, and are available on our website, here at Copperfield Chimney Supply. When cooking on a wood stove, you need to remember that you will not be able to regulate the temperate of the cooking surface. You also will want to use the correct type of cookware, like cast iron pans.

Looking to use less oil to heat your house?

Well, unless you’re moving to Florida, you might want to look into a supplemental heating system. Perhaps a wood stove or a stove that burns wood pellets. Or a gas stove or gas insert for your fireplace.

Wood is relatively inexpensive now, about $225 a cord, with the average homeowner usually requiring one to two cords a winter for supplemental heating. And natural gas is a good option too, as gas lines are constantly being expanded in southern Maine.

Unitil, the gas utility for southern Maine, has seen its customer base grow at a rate of about 2 percent a year, or double the national average, said Alec O’Meara, a spokesman for the utility. He said that for people who want a gas line to their house, the first 100 feet is installed for free, and after that, the cost varies.

Fireplace inserts, either gas or wood, are something to consider as supplemental heating, since they are far more efficient than the existing fireplace they’ll be installed in.

Traditional “open face” wood-burning fireplaces operate at only about 10 percent efficiency, said Ernie Stanhope, owner of Embers Stoves & Fireplaces in South Portland. But a wood insert in that same fireplace would be about 75 percent efficient, said Stanhope. Tax credits for wood inserts are still available through the end of this year, he said, for about 10 percent of the price up to $300.

“With the high cost of oil right now, wood is one of the least expensive options to cut that cost down,” Stanhope said.

No matter what type of supplemental heating source you might consider — including wood-burning fireplace inserts, gas inserts, wood stoves, gas fireplaces or pellet stoves — cost is an important factor.

Gas fireplaces and and gas inserts often start around $1,800. A traditional wood stove might start around $800, while pellet stoves start around $2,000 and wood-burning fireplace inserts start around $2,000 as well. None of those prices include installation, which can vary widely depending on how much work needs to be done to vent and place the system.

Jotul North America, which makes stoves and inserts here in Maine, has a new gas insert which can operate without a standing pilot light in cold climates, said David Peck, marketing manager for Jotul. The insert costs about $2,622.

Jotul also has a new wood stove out this year, “Rangeley,” which loads from the top instead of the front. You can still watch the flames through glass in the front. But loading from the top is probably easier for most folks.

Pellet stoves or inserts, which burn compressed wood products, are easier to use than wood stoves. They can be controlled by a thermostat, for instance.

The major downfall to pellet stoves or inserts, says Stanhope, is that most require electricity to operate. So during a Maine winter, with outages likely, it might not be great for everyone.

When trying to decide what the best supplemental heating source might be in your home, it might be a good idea to get a consultation from a company that sells stoves and inserts. Stanhope, for instance, does free in-home consultations to look at the room sizes, possibilities for venting, and other factors that will determine which heating option makes the most sense.

“When deciding what type of alternative heat source to get, the first thing people need to determine is how it will be vented and where they want to put it,” said Stanhope. “So the best option is to have an in-home consultation.”

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