| With gas and oil prices rising, consumers, particularly in | | | | Either or both can be found at a variety of outlets |
| cold winter climates, are looking at a variety of | | | | including nurseries, garden suppliers, and fireplace and |
| alternative fuels for home heating. Wood, a traditional | | | | stove dealerships. Shop around to compare prices and |
| fuel, is regaining popularity while more modern | | | | other information on wood and corn pellets.Some |
| alternatives, such as wood and corn pellets and waste | | | | homeowners are substituting Waste oil for number 2 |
| oil, are more routinely used.Wood has been used since | | | | fuel oil in specially designed furnaces; others are |
| the beginning of time as a source of heat. The fuel | | | | successfully converting their conventional furnaces for |
| was brought inside to heat shelters centuries ago; | | | | its use. Waste oil is actually used vegetable oil |
| open fires in fireplaces were replaced in the eighteenth | | | | collected from restaurants and filtered before use. |
| century by self-contained stoves, which are still in use | | | | Biodiesel is a manufactured oil consisting of a mixture |
| today in a number of designs. Franklin stoves and | | | | of fuel oil and oil manufactured from vegetable |
| pot-bellied stoves, popular for generations, have been | | | | sources; B20 is 20 percent vegetable-based oil and 80 |
| augmented by efficient Scandinavian designs like Jotul | | | | percent conventional diesel oil; B100 is all vegetable oil. |
| stoves. In recent years wood furnaces, designed to | | | | B20 is more readily available and can be used in |
| burn longer than stoves without refeeding, have upped | | | | conventional oil furnaces without adaptation; B100 |
| the efficiency of wood burning tremendously.The type | | | | requires some adaptations (for instance, natural rubber |
| of wood burned varies in different regions based on | | | | in the furnace will need to be replaced with manmade |
| availability, but some practices are standard: the wood | | | | substances, as the vegetable oil degrades rubber over |
| burned is generally hardwood rather than softwood; | | | | time). One problem with using waste oil is that below |
| wood is aged (cut and stacked) for at least a year | | | | certain temperatures it stops flowing; so the fuel needs |
| before burning; and it is well known that the heating | | | | to be kept warm; biodiesel contains an additive which |
| energy available for a particular wood (measured in | | | | keeps the oil liquid at low temperatures.Any time fire is |
| BTUs, or British Thermal Units) is greater for more | | | | present in a home, as in a wood stove, fireplace, or |
| dense woods than for less dense woods, so the | | | | furnace, the fire hazard has to be considered and |
| heavier the wood the more energy it will provide as it | | | | prevented. Additionally, wood burning in particular builds |
| burns. The Iowa State University Forestry Extension | | | | up creosote, a sticky, flammable substance which |
| Service lists a number of woods by weight, listing | | | | coats stovepipes and chimneys and can cause |
| Osage Orange at 4792 pounds per cord of wood, and | | | | chimney fires and even burn down a house. Wood |
| Basswood at 1984 pounds per cord. To find out what | | | | and corn pellets and waste oil are considered relatively |
| woods are available in your area and to estimate how | | | | clean-burning, but still require attention and |
| many cords of wood you will need, contact your local | | | | maintenance.Choosing an alternative fuel can be not |
| Extension Service (sometimes listed under state or | | | | only safe and economical, but a good deal for the |
| county government listings in your phone book).Wood | | | | environment; many of these fuels are produced locally, |
| pellets are manufactured from recycled wood waste | | | | cutting way down on transportation costs, and many |
| and are considered a very safe, clean-burning, and | | | | of them burn more cleanly than fuel oil, having a more |
| economical alternative to fuel oil and to traditional wood | | | | positive impact on the environment. Add to that the |
| burning. Special stove designs have been created | | | | fact that relying on alternative fuels cuts down on |
| especially to burn wood pellets; inserts are also | | | | reliance on foreign oil, and it becomes clear that opting |
| available to adapt existing fireplaces and furnaces for | | | | for one of these fuels is a great idea.Aldene |
| this fuel. The Pellet Fuels Institute offers a | | | | Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern |
| list of manufacturers of pellet fuel in every region of | | | | New Hampshire. She has written numerous articles for |
| the U.S., along with advice on how to buy and use | | | | local and regional newspapers and for a number of |
| wood pellets. Corn pellets are manufactured from | | | | Internet websites, including Tips and Topics. |
| dried corn and used the same way as wood pellets. | | | | |