Pellet stoves - might be exactly what you need
Heating with wood had found a broad new acceptance. Residential wood heaters range from wood pellet stoves and boilers to instututional and industrial pellet stove heating schools, factories, mall centers and campuses.
Fully automated pellet systems of all sizes, bulk wood pellet delivery, refined and semi-dried wood chip fuels, advanced technology boilers with engineered emissions controls that bring down harmful pollutants, and combined heat and electric power (CHP) systems are steadily making inroads and on the cusp of mainstream acceptance.
Taking a look back:
In the winter of 2005, oil prices averaged $2.44 / gal. While many parts of the country were very cold, the answer seemed to be "turn up the heat". The problem with that was that many hard working Americans did not have the funds to support burning additional gas or fuel oil.
The answer for some was to purchase a pellet stove. The thought of lugging 40# bags of pellets was not pleasing to some, but considering the small amount of extra work vs. the savings, many folks opted in for a little extra work.
In 2007, oil prices went as high as $3.44 and in 2012, prices were even higher at $3.88. This fuel price increase surely supported the purchase of the pellet stove.
The average cost of a pellet stove at that time was about $3,500. Estimating an average of 2 tons of pellets per winter (1 ton of pellets = 1.5 cords of wood) at the average price of $217 per ton, The savings were astounding.