BANGOR, Maine—With no relief in sight from rising heating fuel prices, Mainers are looking for alternative ways to stay warm.
Sky-high oil, propane and natural gas prices are driving a boom in sales of stoves and furnaces that burn wood pellets, corn and even coal.
David Green replaced two propane tanks with a wood pellet stove to heat his family's Bangor home. The heating costs of the new stove, which was put in two years ago, are about a third of propane, he said.
The wood heat also makes their spacious home a lot more comfortable during the long Maine winters, he added.
"From my perspective, I can't think of why more people wouldn't do it," Green said. "For us, we will break even in two years."
From a cost perspective, alternative fuels are an attractive option these days.
Heating oil would have to cost about $2.10 a gallon to get the same bang for the buck from a ton of wood pellets sold for $240 a ton and burned in a high-efficiency boiler, according to information provided by the state's Office of Energy Independence and Security. Wood pellets now sell for $200 to $250 a ton, while the statewide average of heating oil was $3.28 a gallon last week.
A cord of seasoned firewood typically runs a homeowner $200 to $300. With a clean-burning and efficient wood stove, heating oil would have to cost $2.10 to $2.20 a gallon to offer the same return on investment.
The same goes for coal, which at $2.70 a ton is equivalent to $2.40-a-gallon heating oil, according to state officials.
The growing interest in wood pellets and other renewable resources could provide a boost to Maine's forestry and agriculture industries.
Replacing 10 percent of the state's heating oil consumption with homegrown wood pellets would produce $350 million in economic activity and generate up to 3,700 jobs, said Ian Burnes, deputy director of policy and planning with the Office of Energy Independence and Security.
Maine's alternative fuels industry is still young and developing, Burnes said, so the state is looking at ways to help the industry grow as well as make it a more convenient option for homeowners.
"It is not a fully matured fuel source at this point," Burnes said. "But there are a lot of people out there using (wood pellets), and they are saving money."
It's not just wood that people are turning to.
Jon Glidden of Glidden Services in Millinocket said he's seeing growing interest in coal-fired stoves and furnaces.
Glidden said the anthracite coal he sells is a lot cleaner than the dusty coal of olden days. It also burns almost as cleanly as wood but leaves no ash to clean up, he said.
Switching to alternative fuels, though, isn't for everybody.
Heating with oil, propane or natural gas is virtually worry-free -- except for writing the check -- while heating with wood pellets, coal or corn takes effort and planning.
Without access to a widespread delivery system, people have to keep themselves supplied with fuel. That means loading up the trunk or pickup with 40-pound bags of pellets, kernels or coal and carrying the bags into the basement.
For larger units, the fuel is loaded into a hopper, which must be refilled periodically. Wood pellet and corn burners also contain ash receptacles that must be emptied from time to time.
The best way to cut energy bills is by weatherizing a home, according to the state's energy office. Over 10 years, many homeowners can save $3 for every $1 spent on winterization, Burnes said.
"There is no kind of fuel system that comes even close to that," he said.
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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com
