My wife Jess and I have been heating our home with firewood, and some #2 fuel oil, for five years now. This blog provides an update to one I wrote in 2022 about the cost-effectiveness of our first full year of wood stove operation.
My wife Jess and I have been heating our home with firewood, and some #2 fuel oil, for five years now. This blog provides an update to one I wrote in 2022 about the cost-effectiveness of our first full year of wood stove operation.
Backyard firewood stacks ready for the 2025 heating season.
Note that this cost comparison focuses on #2 fuel oil use and cost, Before (2021) and After (2022-2025) having a wood stove installed. In other words, it’s 1 year without a wood stove versus 4 years with one.
Record keeping was simple. The oil company emailed me a receipt for each delivery that included gallons of fuel and fuel price per gallon. I typed this information into an Excel spreadsheet along with the delivery date. We had 19 fuel deliveries during the study period.
In the 4 years since wood stove installation, fuel oil use decreased by 57%. In other words, before we averaged 2.2 gallons per day. After we averaged 0.9 gallons per day. Note that we use fuel oil for hot water and as a secondary heat source.
Fuel use and cost before (2021) and after (2022-25) wood stove installation.
*Fuel prices include a 3-5% ‘prompt pay’ discount.
We spent about $1,900 on fuel oil in 2021 and roughly $1,300 per year from 2022-25. That’s a savings of $600 per year, on average.
5-year total costs for the fuel oil and firewood systems were $9,000 and $6,600, respectively.
It is more difficult to quantify how many cords of wood we have burned in four years. Probably somewhere between 12 and 14 cords.
While the cost savings are not huge, that’s just one part of it. I enjoy cutting, splitting, stacking, and moving firewood around. I think it’s good for the body and mind. It’s satisfying to wake up, go to the window and check out that new stack you made the day before.
