Conscious Choice: Homegrown Fuel

February 2002 | Sensible Home

Homegrown Fuel

by James Dulley

Dear Jim: I have heard a lot about using homegrown renewable fuel, such as corn, pellets, or wood, to heat my entire home. Are there any types of convenient-to-use central furnaces that use these homegrown fuels? — Tom G.

Dear Tom: In today’s world with our heavy dependency on foreign energy supplies, it makes sense to use as many homegrown fuels as possible. This is good not only for our economy, but also for our nation’s security.

For the greatest convenience, install a furnace or boiler that burns corn or wood pellets (cherry pits, wheat, or rye also work). These operate from a standard wall thermostat and automatically feed in the proper amount of corn or pellets from a large hopper to keep your house comfortably warm.

Corn that is unacceptable for animal feed because it is the wrong size or mildewed or scorched can be purchased inexpensively. With the high efficiency of these furnaces, waste corn is a low-cost fuel for homes. Wood pellets, made from sawdust, are priced higher, but are still reasonable.

New high-tech wood-burning furnaces and boilers can also heat an entire house with little inconvenience and mess. Some models burn for forty-eight hours on one load of firewood. They can be attached to your existing forced-air duct or hot water system and heat your home in the same way as a standard gas or oil furnace.

The most convenient models couple the wood-burning furnace or boiler with a gas- or oil-fired backup unit. When the firewood burns down, the furnace automatically switches the gas or oil burners on. This changeover happens so quickly and smoothly that you cannot detect when the backup kicks in.

Some models have the backup gas or oil burner built into the wood-burning furnace firebox (which can be used to start the wood too). Other equally efficient systems have a completely separate standard gas or oil furnace coupled with the wood burner. You still may be able to use your old furnace.

One unique central furnace design has a real fireplace built into the side of it. With the furnace located immediately behind a wall, the fireplace, with glass bi-fold doors, extends through the wall into the adjacent room.

Another option is to install an outdoor furnace or boiler. These are often designed to resemble a small storage shed. The advantage of an outdoor model is it can be located near the woodpile (more than 100 feet from your house) and there is no mess, noise, or smoke indoors.

Insulated ducts can be used to bring heated air to your house, but a boiler often makes more sense for an outdoor unit. The hot water can be used for baseboard heat, in-floor radiant heat, or in the furnace blower section.

Write for (or instant download) Update Bulletin No. 418, buyer’s guide of seventeen indoor/outdoor corn, pellet, and wood furnace/boiler manufacturers listing heat outputs, log sizes, features, prices, and a wood-heat evaluation worksheet. Please include $3.00 and a business-size SASE. James Dulley, Conscious Choice, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244.

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