So you like the idea of heating with wood because you have endless supply of it or you just don’t want to pay the power company or the gas company any more than you have to. You know that your home heating system can be the number one consumer of electricity during the winter months and that you are tired of seeing your electric meter spin so fast you think it is coming of its bearings. You want to lower your power bill and have the most energy efficient home but still be comfortable. If this is you continue reading. A water stove can do all of these things for you, and if you are not afraid to do a little work you can lower your power bill and slow down that pesky electric meter.
Water stoves are a wonderful alternative to heating with a fireplace or using a wood stove. They can provide heat more evenly than any space heater or baseboard heater and they can do it all while burning practically anything. Are they the perfect heating source? Maybe, maybe not depending on your perspective. What can they do for you?
Water stoves can be installed alongside existing central heating and air systems. They use a heating coil that can be placed in the air handler and you and your guests are none the wiser. The heat coming from the water stove is dispersed just like your central heating and air is. It is controlled by a thermostat just like your normal heat is.
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Another thing that water stoves can do is supply all of your hot water. They can totally replace your conventional hot water system or be used in conjunction with it with your conventional system being used as a backup. Many users have reported that they have seemingly endless hot water. This means that gone are the days when company comes over and you let them all take showers first because you know that there will be no hot water left and you end up taking a cold shower. No more! And let’s remember that the water is being heated by wood. Remember also that your water heater is typically number two on the electricity consumption list behind your heat.
A water stove is installed away from your house so that you do not have to smell the smoke created by it. Here lies the biggest con. The biggest con is that the water stove is away from the house. This means that if it is raining or if it is snowing you will need to go out in the weather to load wood into the water stove to keep it running. However, there are models that can use oil and gas as a backup and if you get one of these models you will not need to go out in the weather.
Also to be noted is the fact that you can use solar water heater panels to heat the water. This means that as long as you have good direct sun that you will not even need to build a fire! Many users of water stoves say that this is the way to go if you get a water stove. Many people do not even build fires everyday in the summertime because the heat from the solar water heater panels do all of the work for them! So, is a water stove right for you? Let me tell you the story of a friend of mine.
A friend of mine grew up heating with a wood stove. He grew up in a very small house and always knew that he wanted a bigger one. He also know what it was like to wake up cold because the fire in the wood stove had burned out overnight. But, he still wanted to heat with wood because he lives on a property with an abundance of free wood. Cutting, splitting and stacking wood has been a part of his life since he was a small boy. So, he builds his house on the same property as his family. His house was close to 5,000 square feet! That’s right 5,000! So, after the first couple of months of the winter I asked him how his water stove was working out and what he was using it for. He said that it was working great and that he was heating his entire house and heating his water with it. So the next question was, how much is your power bill? He told me that it was about $40. I could not believe it even though I know how all of the systems work and what causes your power bill to be high or low. But to me, that is the proof that I needed to know that one day I will install a water stove.
If you are thinking about getting a water stove, rest assured that they can lower your power bill. Make sure that you have it installed by a licensed professional.