After busting through a boatload of firewood during the super-cold temperatures we experienced from December 13 through the Christmas holiday, I checked the level on our B99 biodiesel tank and the gauge is sitting just below the 7/8 marker. This means we’ve got well over 215 gallons of delicious recycled veggie oil fuel remaining.

Burning wood in the catalytic cast iron insert has seriously helped reduce our dependence on the green –albeit pricey– local heating fuel. This being said, there is definitely a trade-off when choosing to effectively shut-down your home’s central heating system and supplement said heat with another, less-centrally located source.

After making the decision to keep the thermostat down, we kept a keen eye on how the decreasing temps affected our home’s ability to hold heat, thereby increasing their impact on us. This affect manifested itself primarily in keeping the basement relatively cold most of the time. Once shutting down the forced air vents, the basement has averaged 56 degrees during the past couple of weeks.

Our basement is finished and is the relative domain of our daughters. Because of our move to shut down this zone, our girls simply spent more time upstairs. This being said, the cool temps in the basement didn’t seem to bother them and they still managed to spend more time downstairs than I would have. Whatever the case, to help in the shift away from basement play time, we made the living room much more attractive and conducive to play. This ensured a more comfortable main floor while keeping the thermostat locked into a lower setting.

As the temperatures dropped below 20 degrees, the effectiveness of the cast iron insert waned a bit as warm air simply wasn’t in abundance enough to keep the rear of the house as warm as the front. As the effectiveness waned, we boosted the overall temperature by activating the central heating system. The furnace didn’t cycle much, and cycled even less once we went to bed –just enough to keep us at or above 57 degrees while we slept.

We have made a conscious decision to reduce our fuel costs and energy use this year, at the cost of our overall comfort. Fuel in any form is simply too expensive to use foolishly. We don’t keep the house at 70 degrees; but we do ensure it’s as comfortable as we can make it at 64 or 65… sometimes less… sometimes more. It’s amazing what a little wool can do to help keep your comfortable in every room.

For all this effort, we have burned a measly 65 gallons of B99 since May, 2008, as referenced in my past post about our home heating costs over the past year.

We’ll continue down this path until our less-than-well-seasoned wood runs out. At this point we’ll bring in the Bear Bricks and likely boost our costs a bit, but also increase our overall comfort. I’m already looking forward to Spring!