Quote:
Originally Posted by Bikenut
I grew up in Michigan's Upper Penninsula, an area where below zero temps in the winter were the norm. (Sometimes felt like that in the summer too!) We lived in a farm house that had absolutely no insulation in it. We had a wood stove in the kitchen and a wood furnace in the basement. No forced air. And if Dad fell asleep then the fires went out and we would wake up to a house that was almost the same temp as outside.
Every summer was spent cutting down trees, splitting firewood, carrying firewood, stacking firewood, and in the winter filling wood boxes and carrying ashes..... God Almighty I very quickly got tired of messing with firewood!
Then when I was 16 we moved to Michigan's lower peninsula into an apartment and I discovered the most ingenious, and important, invention/innovation of my young life. There was a dial on the wall and if I turned it up the apartment got warmer!!!! Imagine that... no freaking firewood!!!
So even now in my old age as long as the power doesn't go out and that little dial on the wall in my house keeps working let the cold winds blow!
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Firewood is still a way of life here. PG&E doesn't let us use that dial on the wall much. Only in seriously critical situations like if the fire goes out, and we're gone a long time. We'll bring the house up to about 55'-60' with the heater, then shut it off and let the wood stove take over.
We just got the pre-warning email from PG&E yesterday that our next bill is projected to be over 500.00 for December. We barely ran the heater (propane heat, mind you) and live with minimal lights on. Highway freaking robbery. PG&E needs some competition.
I['m very fortunate that Mrs. 2LZ still loves splitting and stacking firewood. We're also very fortunate that Mother Nature (The Good Lord?) provides us with enough natural oak fall on our property every year so we don't have to buy wood like many here have to.
Edit: When we first moved here, we installed a pellet stove insert into that giant, heat sucking hole in the wall known as a fireplace. It worked well as we both were gone 12 hours a day and it kicked on and off by itself. We'd shut it down when we got home and light the wood stove. It wasn't bad then, I could buy a ton (pallet) of pellets for about 250.00, delivered. That would last about 2-3 months. Now? Pellets are upwards of 7-8.00 a BAG! A bag may last a day to a day and a half. Times that by 30......