Wood stoves for diy-home-heatingFireplaces and stoves are becoming much more popular for diy-home-heating than ever. They are also much more economical than they ever have been. I really won't cover wood fireplaces or stoves, because they are losing popularity. I will say this much concerning wood fireplaces; if you live in a place where you can get away with burning wood, then by all means get a wood stove. You should have a secondary heat source though. Propane and natural gas stoves and fireplaces are nice for ambiance and for heating. Make sure either have blowers in them. They won't be economical unless they have a strong fan to move the air around.
The graphic above shows how to vent a gas stove. Some places will have codes against venting like this so be sure you can do it. You might have to use more pipe, but the modern stoves and pipes have the ductwork-heating vented so the fresh air comes in and the exhaust goes out in the same triple-wall pipe. It's really important to get a tight seal in the pipes or the pilot light will keep getting blown out in the wind.
A fireplace, or wood burning stove can add a lot of ambiance to a room. They are also considered "extra goodies" to appraisers.
One important thing about wood burning stoves is that you can still have heat when the power goes out. Most stoves like these have fans to help disperse the heat, but they can still be effective, even life-saving, without the fan if the power in your neighborhood goes out. If you live in a cold climate, you should probably have a good backup heating system that doesn't need electricity. It's an important part of the diy-home-heating system.
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