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[glock_556]

Does that question make sense?

What I'm wanting to know is if anyone has compared what it costs them to heat their DHW with wood vs the cost of electricity during the summer? 

I'm debating on whether it is feasible to burn wood year round or not.

If it matters, my electric is $0.11/per kwh and I have an 80 gallon electric hot water heater that is less than 2 years old

[AirForcePOL]

I have done estimates on my water heater and from the charts and calculations I came across on the internet I am assuming that my water heater costs me around $50-60 a month to run.  However, for me I would rather pay the electric bill in the summer than have to mess with my boiler.

[hondaracer2oo4]

I too pay between 50 and 60 per month during the summer to heat my dhw with the electric heater. I get wood for $100 per cord. I don't think that I could get away with a 1/2 cord per month only heating dhw. Plus it would be constantly smoldering and smokey. No thanks.

[hoardac]

I figure around 50-70 bucks a month savings but we have an ordinance in town against burning in the summer. Pay about the same rate as you but also cost of pump running all month is a factor and my smoldering beast is unpleasant to breath.

[Sprinter]

It depends on your usage habits. We usually have storage or buffers.
If its a standard 50 gal electric heater versus firing your outdoor wood stove just to heat DHW 40-80 gal , that's a cost and time calc you have to figure. It's the outdoor units standby loss that really hurts the effort if you have large volume.  But I think even with free wood its a lot to waste.
With a 800-1000 gal storage we fire the boiler once a week for DHW. Obviously usage matters. Maybe if you had more than one tank or a couple 80-120 gal heaters you could fire every 2- maybeee 3 days.
Another option that has gained popularity is the heat pump water heaters like the GE geospring. Where the cost is a lot less to operate. You see the saving or ROI quicker the hotter your climate is and staying in heat pump mode. I've done several where we added storage cause the 50 gal wasn't enough for back to back showers and not going into hybrid mode. Which is using the elements rather than heat pump. And you can heat 250 gallons for what a standard electric 50 gal cost.

[coolidge]

I use propane on demand in the summer, we use it too cook also. We might use $200.00 a year

[Sprinter]

That's a great option too, zero standby losses.

[603doug]

I did a comparison a couple of years ago when we heated one place with wood and we used 1 kw more for hw  in the summer only using electricity compared with running boiler in the cold months. Heat 2 places now so use wood year round, may install solar tubes for summer months.

[MattyNH]

 I burn oil for my hot water during the summers months.. Really no demand on the OWB in my case. Plus little oil I use for hot water..Worth it to me…I get fill up with oil every 2 yrs....But I got a buddy that runs his OWB all yr long..Works slick for him.

[mlappin]

I never figured it was worth the hassle, come spring I clean the OWB out, spray the insides with oil and place a bucket over the stack. But we have nat gas so messing with wood to heat a little hot water isn't worth it to me.

[franky1]

neighbour 4 mile from my place,,has been burning wood, for 25 yrs now all year,,he uses 2 logs a day all summer,,just smoldering,
says if his hydro bill is close to $50,,he is pissed off,
old fellew,,was working for foresty all his life,, has money to burn, but loves his wood stove, old round PortageandMain      ML 30
he  would be on this site to,,if he could hndle a computer...lol  his story are wild,,about his stoves and experinces.......

[d conover]

I also think it saves me about 50.00 a month, I never notice much smoke.   In the summer I burn the pithiest, dried out wood I can find. (pretty close to rotten) It wouldn't last 15 minutes in the winter.  But in the summer it is like it ignites and just sits there putting off enough heat that the blower never kicks on.   I only have to put wood in about every three days, and then not very much.

Part of the long burn time in the summer on mine is that being a Hardy the DHW isn't pumped.

[fryedaddy]

I have around 600 gallons of storage and run (6) solar panels.

I never have to feed the stove during the summer. You can find used panels fairly cheap.

Bought and installed I have around $1,500-2,000 in my setup.

[dumbodog00]

I notice about a $20-30 increase in my electric bill for hot water in the summer.  I have a Hardy and allow the water to flow through the coil in the woodburner so that it gets preheated slightly.  It is not worth the hassle of firing for hot water throughout the summer.

[TM88]

My hot water heater is propane, so taking less then 5 minutes a day to throw 1 maybe 2 sticks on is worth it to me.