Saving Money with a Wood Insert
The fireplaces of my childhood were mostly brick affairs, large, with folding wire mesh grates and the hearth mostly black and white with different types of ash scattered around the remains of the wood fuel. I remember late nights, watching the fire burn down to embers, the logs glowing red, slowly turning into a crumbly white. It worked well to keep costs low for heating during the winter; not only was it a source of heat, but we used it to bring the family together, even toasting marshmallows over it. These days, though, with energy costs so high, it’s obvious that the same fire place wouldn’t heat a two story house so well. It needed help, and a wood insert was exactly the answer to help cut down the utility costs today. Here’s a way to use your fireplace to really help the financial toll that energy takes, especially, if you’re like us, and your children are all out of the home:
First, keep the heat upstairs around fifty five or sixty degrees and simply keep the wood insert fed throughout the day. Hard wood is good for the night, making sure it will last until morning. If you’re older, you’re going to love the heat this puts out; it’ll make your bones feel good; I find heat like this can be great for aches and pains, especially from arthritis, in the joints. It’s plain, old ordinary heat that works so well. If a chilly wind is blowing outdoors, then simply back up to this fireplace. It’s going to feel good.
Second, fill the insert up when you get up in the morning. The fire from last night will have died down, and it’s now time to get the house really warm again. Keep all necessary items downstairs; that way you only have to go upstairs during the warmest part of the day, in the afternoon. The fire will keep the downstairs rooms nice and cozy, whether it’s a den or bedroom. In our home, we mostly live downstairs this way.
Third, if you do this, you’ll not only like the heat, but the bill will be really low. Last winter, we saved about a hundred and fifty a month, this way, compared to the year before — all from wood heat and from using a wood insert. If you can do this, it’ll definitely save money!