That's one mans opinion, here is my real life experience: I have 2 full winter heating seasons on my Eclassic 2400 gasser, after 7 years burning a CB Classic standard model. I switched to the gasser for the wood savings and I'm not disappointed. I do live in a northern climate and am not in a state requiring EPA Phase 2 units. Every heating situation will vary in wood usage, the only way you can compare is burning both models on the same application which I have done. You can't compare what you burn for your house and compare it against what a neighbor burns. I normally burned around 11 full cords per season in the Classic and cut down to 6 cords my first season with the Eclassic and only 4 1/2 cords during the past very mild winter. I rarely see more than heat wavers coming out of the stack. I am not getting any younger and saving on my time and back has value to me. I believe in working smarter not harder. I went with the Central Boiler E-Classic 2400 after great satisfaction with my Classic and they have led the way in EPA Phase 2 qualified units and technology.