 Quote:
Originally Posted by farmerEd
I've been thinking a lot lately about buying a new wood burning furnance...a highly effecient wood/oil combo with a 500gal heat(water)storage tank...it costs close to $15K (ouch). I have enough wood on my property to last many, many lifetimes, and for now anyway, I enjoy harvesting it. (so its basically free).
I currently use about 1500 gallons of oil per year.
At current prices, that means, about $3000 a year savings, or a 5 year payback....if oil costs rise to $3/gallon (not impossible imo), a 2.5 year payback...if oil drops to $1.00 a gallon again, it takes about 10 years and no longer seems like investing $15K makes sense...
What appeals to me most are 2 things: one, never having to purchase oil again, and not worrying about what the future holds (i.e. being energy independent, at least as far as heat & hot water)...and second, the possibility of coming out ahead financially....one the payback period is over, at $2/gallon, I save something like $250/month, every month, for as long as I am able to process the wood...
Opinions?
|
You know as crazy as this sounds, my tin foil hat is on today BUT americans that live in a cold climate probably will need a free source of wood sooner than later to keep warm in the coming winters, when oil is hard to pay for. Gasoline is one thing but when its 10 degrees and oil is 8 dollars a gallon, wood cut by hand from the backyard will surely keep you warm and solvent.
|