During the last decade, energy costs have come to dominate the attentions of countries, states, corporations, and individuals. Gasoline is of course the problem that pops into everyone’s mind first. But other considerations appear during certain seasons. For some, nearer the equator, air conditioning in the summer is the expense that pulls down their finances month after month. But for us in the North, where winter is deep, heating bills are those unwelcome visitors that do not seem to leave. But there is a solution available to those in a position to enjoy it. Wood burning stoves, which have come a long way from those massive cast iron things of the old west, are a highly economical solution to augment or replace standard household heating systems.

The main advantage of the wood stove comes from its fuel source. Dead wood is surprisingly abundant over much of the landscape if you only know where to look and take the initiative to go out and get it. And once you have it, simply by keeping your wood pile dry and close by you can maintain a good reliable source of heating fuel that costs you nothing to use on a cold night.

Also, perhaps as a hidden benefit, sawing and splitting logs is actually a surprisingly good source of exercise and strength training. Often one can find a large supply of wood for free or for cheap, and if you do need to order wood for those deep days of winter it will still provide a good boost to your wallet over current natural gas prices.

Also, taking your heating off the grid means that if there was a disaster and public heat went off line you would not find your house left in the cold. This independence to deal with whatever comes while not remaining subject to the state of vast systems may seem frivolous, but in a disaster it truly pays off.