Remember your gas bills from last winter?

If you live in the NE portion of the United States, chances are your heating bills last winter were nearly as much, if not more, than your car payment!

If you are thinking about ways to save energy this winter and are in the market for a new furnace, the following information may interest you.

What you may not know about heating with wood:

• Wood is environmentally friendly. It may not seem so, since trees have to be cut down, but trees are a renewal source of energy. Trees are also carbon neutral; that is, they absorb carbon dioxide while living, and release carbon dioxide whether they burn or decompose. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, are a one way street - only releasing green house gasses that have been captured deep in the earth for millions of years.

• Wood can save money. With the new generation of high efficiency hydronic furnaces (or wood boilers), the heat generated is much more intense than in the older furnaces and very little is lost up the chimney. These new furnaces can be used as a secondary heating method and have been shown to save up to 70% in reduction of oil, propane, and natural gas heating bills.

• Wood can be clean. Because the new furnaces burn wood at much higher temperatures, there is almost no smoke. Also, there is very little ash and the firebox only needs to be cleaned once a month, rather than every day. And, the furnace can be installed outdoors, eliminating the need to lug your logs through the house.
  

• Wood is safe heating method. Of course, as with any type of heating material, the proper precautions must be taken. Be sure to look for a wood boiler system that is both UL and CSA approved.
  
  
• I cannot recommend a brand for you, as I don't yet have a wood burning system, but if you are interested in researching your possibilities or want more information, visit www.greenwoodfurnace.com
  

Happy Burning!

And, as always, 'til tomorrow - it's all good!