Winter Warmth at Wildberry

Pellet and electric furnace

My husband hates to be cold.

As a boy, he lived in Khartoum and Omdurman, on either side of the White Nile in Sudan, Africa. There was no suitable school for him there, nor were there playmates his own age. By the time he was eight, he was wild and illiterate. As was the custom of the day, his parents sent him to boarding school in England.

Once he learned to read, he proceeded to read every book in the school library but he was always cold and hungry. He had to take cold baths. Imagine being sent away from the arid heat of Africa to the bone-chilling dampness of England where central heating was reserved for Parents Visiting Day. 

 

The logs, the overhang and thick insulation of the roof make our house very efficient, keeping out extreme cold and heat. Our main heat source is a furnace which burns compressed wood pellets. It provides the deliciously warm heat of a wood burning stove but is more convenient than cutting, splitting and stacking several cords of wood each year. However, I do miss splitting wood in temperatures of -20 C (-4 F) or so. When it is that cold, it is most satisfying to see logs split so readliy at the slightest swing of an axe.



Pellets inside the hopper

In the photo of the furnace the hopper for the pellets is on the right. One reason I like burning pellets is that it utilizes a waste product of the forest industry. 

In addition to the pellet furnace, we also have an electric furnace, a propane furnace, electric baseboards heaters, and a wood burning stove.

Each fall we have five or six tons of pellets delivered, one ton per pallet. We used to keep one ton near the basement, close to the furnace room; the rest were stored in the barn until needed. We now keep all of them near the house, covered with tarps--no need to switch from the snow plough to the pallet forks on the tractor. It is not attractive but it is practical and convenient. We don't need shoes or boots or parkas to bring pellets indoors.

I like to be in charge of feeding the furnace so my husband stays warm.