Wood Burning Stove Insert or Natural Gas Logs Insert.
Betting this has been covered before, if so and u have a link plz share.
Thanks in Advance!

For SC, get a heat pump.

Have an electronic heat pump/AC unit less than 8 years old. Looking to supplement and whatever in Power Down/ice storm.

No natural gas availability where I am, so it's wood or diesel for heat and wood is my primary heat source.



Due to a windstorm last week I had no electricity for 4 days but I had a warm house.

This is Arfcom...  Get both!

In all reality considering your AO, I would choose a wood stove.  We have consistent below zero temps in the winter and heat with wood.  Of course having a modern insulated home and modern functioning wood stove make it much more efficient.

We burn a lot of wood, but I think our winters are a lot different here.  We light it in November and it goes out early April.  

do you already have a chimney?  If not go gas.  Chimneys are expensive for only occasional use.  If you do have one but don't use it, I'd get an inspection before you made the final decision.  It could be unsafe or need expensive repairs.

Since you are SPECIFICALLY looking for a power outage/weather SHTF heat source, wood is the only logical choice.

Gas you are still 100% utility dependent. If you have to go gas, go propane. At least you store your own fuel.

Do you already have a chimney?  If not, it's gonna cost you some money.  

Do you have a wood source?  What's your time worth to you?  If you have to buy wood, it's probably not going to be cheaper than gas.  

The nice thing about wood is as long as the chimney is in good shape and you have a source of wood, you'll have heat.  Gas is a very reliable utility...but it's not 100% reliable.  Years ago I had a house that was heated with natural gas.  One Thanksgiving Day I woke up to a cold house.  Checked the furnace and the pilot light was out.  Tried to light it and it didn't light.  Checked the meter and there was no gas pressure.  Called the gas company and they came out.  Turned out it was a defective meter.  So, point is natural gas can fail too.  

I'm building a house and we are putting in a triple wall stainless chimney and a wood stove.  The main heat source of the house will be a dual fuel propane furnace/heat pump.  We do want a wood stove in the basement as a backup heat source as well as a supplemental heat source when it's cold out but I have zero intention of heating my house full time with heat unless absolutely necessary.  I had wood heat as the primary heat as  kid and I don't miss it at all.  If you value your time, wood isn't cheaper to heat with.  If your time has no value, then wood heat MIGHT be cheaper to heat with as long as you have a close, free source of wood.

Solar, as in ...

1)Not needing heating in the first place. Granted, not always possible but man is it nice to go to the beach and toast a bit under the sun while others worry about heating.
2) Second best option. In places where winter gets cold, passive solar heating means the design of the house itself heats as needed. This is of course the most cost officient form of heating. You will need an architect to get it right, and build a house from zero, all that costs money, but then you have no aditional cost. I know of a home in the south of Chile (gets pretty cold) where pasive solar is all they ever need.
3)Using the most reliable fuel. This may not always be the most cost effective, and maybe its not a good option for everyday, but for survival purposes you want something you can count on. Example, say electricity is cheap wherever it is that you are, Id still want to have a kero heater even if its more expensive because that I can count on while all it takes is a snow storm or blackout to leave me freezing.
4)Using the most cost effective fuel. If you produce your own wood, then thats probably your best option, but then again you have to balance it with how much it costs you in terms of money/time. Here's where a lot of people will be well served by a combined setup using both gas and wood.
But answering your question, Id say gas is in general is more practical and more cost effective (unless its particularly expensive in your area) while wood is a bit more time consuming, more messy and higher maintenance but more reliable during long term disasters.
FeFAL

i have a forced air gas furnace, i added a auxiliary wood furnace and cut my gas bills by 2/3, since the chimney was already there, all i had to do is to get the wood furnace on sale in the spring, and have a furnace guy add it to the duct work, sure keeps the house toasty and  good to know that i have back up heat. since i use it regularly it has paid for itself over the years.

us stove

Um... FerFal i see a big minus care to repost this post is vailid to my interests and you input is appreciated :)
-sigadvantage-

little moar info:

Home built in 1979, brick ranch situated North to South.  Brick fireplace (HUGE) built with home.  New'ish heat pump, smallish wood stove insert.

Nat Gas is a new line, $300 tap fee.  $300 refunded once you install a gas burning appliance.  

FIL is a builder and has a Nice Vented Insert (NG Logs) that I can install (free) to absorb the NG tap fee.  Hot Water heater will need to be replaced in a year or so...he also has a HW Heater (NIB) that I can have (free)

The Craft brand stove I have is Tiny compared to the Opening (it's installed properly and burns fine-but it's small size makes it tough to heat with) not to mention I have a very minimal amount of wood on site to burn (cut/split)

our electricity is from a Co-op and seems very expensive....I'm hoping to offset that expense with an alternate heating source....a supplemental source.

thanks!

how much is your electric bill a month in winter?



 

The happiest days in my life were the days my sons were born, and the day gas was brought into our neighborhood.  I heated with wood for several years, and it was a challenge.  Now, I have a clicker and when a want to build a small fire, I click twice.  When I want a bigger fire, I click four times.  If you get a vented fire insert, the flames look like a wood fire.  Love it...

$250/mo last winter (eta: 1690 sq. ft.)

1) Go gas for tap fee refund.  
2) Set up logs with some fittings that would be easy to remove/install when you want.  
3) Update water heater when you are ready.  
4) Axe FIL to hook you up with a high efficiency gas furnace.  
5) Get wood ()when you get time over the next year.  Axe the ( or forget to tell them you have gas () Lekturk Company if you can keep your all electric rate to save money,.  
6) Use heat pump until the outside temp reaches the strip heater set point.  
7) Then use gas.  

SHTF - We have lost electricity 4 times in two years.  Have not lost gas yet.
TEOTWAWKI - SOB (save one bullet)

Wood.  Besides wood, you can burn most trash (no metals or plastic).

What would be the approximate cost of having a  chimney put in for a wood stove?

wood will heat your home more efficiently.

gas will heat your home more conveniently.



poll fail!

FIFY

We are $350-$400 in the winter, and our heating electricity is half price (duel fuel program). All electric house, 1400sqft, but old/drafty.

 

Any gas fireplace needs to have a fan/blower for any kind of efficiency. Lots of really nice ventless types now but most don't include the fan assembly. Universal fans are 1/10th the cost over the factory units.

Wood is just a giant pain in the ass to deal with. On top of that, they are starting to link all kinds of health problems (cancer) from fireplace wood smoke. And the last reason is FIRE outside the fireplace. Very common for all kinds of reasons.

At first I was going to say Nat. gas, then I saw this.

Go wood.

We have a wood stove in the house, and we used it until I was able to install an outdoor wood stove.  The outdoor wood stove uses a small amount of electric, as do the circulator pumps, but it is convenient and keeps the house much cleaner.  It heats both our hot water and our house, and I would buy it again.  We do have free wood available on our property, and I have boys to carry it.  This helps a lot.

We do not have natural gas available, nor do I see it becoming available in the future.  We could use propane, and it is inexpensive right now, but as taxes will increase on gas production, I would expect it to increase.

I'd say natural gas with somehow having wood as an option in an extreme case of natural disaster or any other reason your NG supply is compromised.

I want wood heat so bad for the sheer purpose of saying I don't rely on some gas company for the ability to heat my house.  

However, my sinus issues will never let me have an inside wood burning stove and the outside units are too darned expensive to justify.  Plus, you still need some form of electricity to circulate the water defeating my desire for a way to heat the house if nothing else.

I buy wood now that I'm old and can't cut the 6 cords needed to heat this old farmhouse anymore. Over the last 4 years that I've been buying wood I've paid anywhere from $40 per rick to $50 per rick delivered to my barn. I bought 20 ricks this summer for $900 and that will get me through almost two years of winters.

No way could I heat this house with gas or electricity for even twice that much money. I'll burn wood until I can't lift it anymore.

eta, I've heated with wood exclusively for over 30 years now.

I'd do both...  it'll make the wood/gas last longer and you'll have heat without power

Wood... lots of work,  doesn't need electricity to heat your house

Gas ...  easy, doesn't work with out power (may need generator as back up)

I think I read this all wrong.  This:






and this:



       


At the time seemed different to me.  Occasional emergency heat vs a supplemental source to reduce monthly costs.  



Wood will absolutely be cheaper if you already have a chimney and wood stove.  It'll heat the house much more evenly if it's in the basement and the heat can rise through the rest of the house.  Slower to warm, but much more even (and cleaner for your primary living space).



I've never had gas logs.  The idea of a clean-burning fire at the push of a button is appealing, but I don't think it'd save you any money in the long run if used regularly.



 

I'd like to add that a nat gas fireplace does not need electricity. We have a vent-less type that has been used during several outages over the years, that worked very well. 2800 sq ft house. Plenty of heat, had to duty cycle the fireplace to prevent us from getting too hot. Yes, heat wasn't as nicely distributed throughout the house, like the gaspack would do, but it wasn't too bad. The house has a very open floor plan. We had a myriad of CO detectors running, and not a peep. Turned it off while we slept.

Pretty bad ice storm came through here in '08.  Our power was out for a week, others were out for 2-3.  My parents had a ventless NG fireplace and the thing was wonderful.  

I do worry if we'll have the same results if the New Madrid decides to let go!