Wood burning furnaces (Cookeville: house, heat pump, live)

[Vascodagama]

Has anyone added a wood burning furnace to their central heating system?

My electric bill has reached well over $300 since I started using the heat pump and I'm looking at ways to reduce the cost. My electric bill was half that in September and October when using the A/C. Does this sound normal? I started looking for solutions and found that wood/pellet burning stoves are good for radiant heat but this will only help in the room where I place it. I found a wood burning furnace that can be placed in the basement and would connect to my existing duct system. As long as I have wood this would provide primary heat but if needed I could still use my heat pump.

I would like to hear from anyone who has done this or has knowledge on this.

Thanks!

[WyoNewk]

Where do you live? While heat pumps work well in cool weather, they aren't worth much for heating in very cold weather.

Wood furnaces aren't the best either, unless you live on a farm and have an unlimited supply of wood. Is natural gas available to your home?

[Vascodagama]

Originally Posted by WyoNewk

Where do you live? While heat pumps work well in cool weather, they aren't worth much for heating in very cold weather.

Wood furnaces aren't the best either, unless you live on a farm and have an unlimited supply of wood. Is natural gas available to your home?

I'm in the greater Cookeville area. The heat pump gets the house warm with no problems it just run's up my electric bill.

There is plenty of firewood around here.

No natural gas where I live.

[loonyrich]

There are different types of wood furnaces. Some go in the house (the smoke has to be vented) and there are some that sit outside.
There are hot water wood furnaces and hot air wood furnaces.
My experience is with a Hardy furnace that has a stainless steel covering and heats hot water which is then pumped into a coil set into you ductwork. It can sit up to 100 ft from your house. It also provides hot water into your hot water heater and eliminates use of electricity to a very large degree.
I absolutely loved it and was sorry when we sold that house.
Some people don't like the firewood burden ( it has to be filled at least once a day, twice it very cold weather and only once a week in the summer if you choose to get your hot water for domestic use year-round.
Some people don't like the smoke that comes from the furnace.
Some people don't like cleaning out the ash box.
All that said it is a very cost effective way to heat your house.
I would be glad to answer further questions via direct message based on my experiences.