Heating your home with wood could save you money this winter

If you’re looking for an alternative way to heat your home this winter, it may be time for a blast from the past. Using wood to heat your home could save you a significant amount of money.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Americans will spend an average of $635 this winter on natural gas heating, which is a 22% increase from last year.

Most people heat their homes with natural gas, followed by electricity, fuel oil/kerosene, and then wood at 2.5 million households.

“The smaller homes…A little fireplace can handle that, but if they got wood-burning stoves, and they’re heating a big home, this is the least expensive way to go,” said the owner of Walt Temple Tree, Walter Temple.

Temple Tree’s owner says that by using wood, you could get away with only spending $350 all winter for heating, and that’s often a one or two-time investment in purchasing the piles of wood, as opposed to a monthly utilities bill.

According to the EIA, heating your home with natural gas for the same time period costs on average $635, and using electricity jumps to $945.

The $350 you would spend on wood would buy you about nine to 12 ranks, or sections of wood, that hold 200 pieces each. In total, that equates to 1,800 to 2,400 pieces of wood.

Temple Tree also sells to agencies that help provide heat for families in need, like Real Services’ Energy Assistance Program.

Through the program, Temple Tree provides wood for roughly 750 families in South Bend.