NDL Hearth Blog

No one is excited to see the oil truck pull up to the house to refill the tank these days.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the average cost per gallon of heating oil is $3.93, up 11 cents from the week prior, and more than 60 cents a gallon more than last year at this time.

Like filling the car with gas, home heating is now a primary concern for many families. And it is forcing some to find an alternative way to heat their homes.

Douglas Telepman owns a cape-style home in Northborough that was built in 2005. The house was built with oil heat.

Telepman is a solar consultant and talks to families about energy every day. Several people have told him how they had reduced their home heating bill by installing a pellet stove.

"After about the third or fourth family that raved about their pellet stoves, I decided to look into it," said Telepman.

He bought a pellet stove to heat his home.  He estimates that the stove eats up about a 40-pound bag of pellets each day, which costs about $5.50 a day, a fraction of his wintertime oil consumption. - NorthboroughPatch

Looking to stop spending money on oil? Interested in a new pellet stove? Contact Northeast Distribution LTD to find a pellet stove dealer in your area.

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In the Northeast, heating homes with wood or pellets is becoming a more and more attractive option. It will be more challenging than ever on our wallets to stay warm this winter. Those who use oil to heat their homes are expected to spend the most they have ever spent.

Higher than average fuel bills are expected for those using heating oil, propane and natural gas, says the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Homes using heating oil will be most affected since heating oil prices are forecast to be 10% higher than last winter.

Bills for natural gas will be 4% higher and propane prices are 7% higher. Homeowners in the Northeast will be affected the most, 80% of the heating oil use in the US is consumed here.

Maybe it is time to think about heating with wood or pellets, both are renewable resources. You can heat your entire home with a wood or pellet stove or you can supplement your heating bill. Either way, your heating bills will be dramatically reduced. But there are more advantages. There is nothing more relaxing than sitting in front of the fire after a long day at work.

Today in Pennsylvania a delivery of 200 to 400 gallons of oil costs about $3.50 per gallon, about 80 cents more than last year. A delivery of 200 gallons would cost $700. Last year, it cost about $540.

With a few cords of wood or with a ton or two of pellets, you could heat your home for the winter, depending on your home’s size of course. The cost savings is impressive, but what many like the most is not having a home heating bill to worry about.

For an efficient and attractive wood burning stove or fireplace insert or pellet stove or pellet stove inserts, contact Northeast Distribution LTD today.

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Did you think you couldn’t install a pellet stove in your home because your chimney was already in use for your oil burner? Not anymore.

In Maine it is now OK to have a pellet stove hooked into the same chimney flue as an oil burner, thanks to the new law that was just recently passed.
 
The earlier law prohibiting dual connections exists in many states. But since that law was enacted, the technology surrounding heating systems and pellet stoves has changed markedly, particularly with regard to high-efficiency pellet heating systems. In fact, there is NO instance in which an accident could be attributed to dual connections involving pellet heat.

In many instances, this change in Maine law considerably reduces the cost of installing a pellet stove or pellet heating system. Which is the good news for homeowners who had been considering pellet stoves to help heat their homes.
 
Live in Maine? Looking for a new way to heat your home? Now you can consider pellet stoves, which are an economical, attractive and efficient way to heat your home. Contact Northeast Distribution LTD for more information.

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What warms the hearth may not always be good for the environment – here’s a look at eco-friendly fireplace options.

It may look pretty, but according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average emissions of fine particles into the air from one of the 22 million fireplaces in the United States are as much as 20 times greater than those from a wood burning stove, pellet stove, or oil or gas.

Not only do those fine particles go up the chimney and into the air outside, but depending on your fireplace and your flue, they are also circulated in the air inside your home. And all that air pollution isn’t even really keeping your warm. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that a conventional open front-style fireplace is just 10-percent efficient at turning wood into warmth. But you can still have a beautiful fire and go green.

There are eco-friendly options in the fireplace market these days that look good, do the job, and minimize their impact on the environment. And, as more people are going green and burning wood, these options look more attractive.

Glass Fireplace Doors
One of the most striking alternatives to a wood-burning fire is using colored tempered glass fireplace doors. Colored squares or ovals of tempered glass chosen to fit your décor for you wood fires.

When the fire is ignited, the tempered glass can withstand heat, retain its color over time, yet does not emit any carbon toxins.  Fires in a fireplace with glass do not get quite as hot as an open wood fire. But they burn better and look beautiful, and the fire is still effective in warding off the winter chill.

Gas logs
Adding a gas log burner, and gas logs obviously reduces emissions. Not only are gas logs convenient they have very low emissions. And these are the fake gas logs of old. Our gas logs are gorgeous, hand-made and hand-painted ceramic log sets that exactly replicate the look of real wood both when they are burning and when they are not.

Interested in a greener solution to the open fireplace? Contact Northeast Distribution, LTD.

Original article Illinois Times

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Many homeowners in New Hampshire want to supplement their heating bills with wood pellets this winter. The reason, "Oil just isn't keeping us warm enough".

The state of New Hampshire has a program to make the switch more affordable.

"The intent of this program is to get people off of oil," says Barbara Bernstein of the Public Utilities Commission. "We have a rebate available up to $6,000 for wood pellet boilers or furnaces."

Although Wood Pellet Boilers are available, most homeowners are opting for pellet stoves to replace 70% to 90% of their oil use and gain a little bit of ambiance.

View the following video and contact us if you would like us to direct you to a pellet stove retailer in your area.

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Fall is a great time to get your seasonal, before winter, light-the-fire fireplace maintenance done. It's a good idea to have chimneys cleaned and inspected annually - even for homeowners who have switched over to burning natural gas.

"People who heat with wood stoves need to clean their chimneys once a year," says Edwards, who has run his chimney sweeping business for almost 30 years.

Even if you don't heat with wood it is a good idea to have the chimney checked because there is a danger of carbon monoxide poisoning if it is plugged and not venting properly.

Preventive chimney maintenance includes applying a sealer on the brick to minimize moisture saturation. While the chimney cleaning company is there, have them inspect the chimney and advise you if the mortar between the bricks needs to be repaired or replaced.

Northeast Distribution LTD distributes stove and chimney pipe as well as chimney caps for pellet, wood and gas fueled fires. If you are in need of chimney maintenance, contact us so we can connect you to a retailer in your area.

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Cooler evening temperatures are creeping in and homeowners in New England, NY, NJ, and PA need to ensure that their home heating equipment will operate safely and reduce heating costs.

Typically homeowners don’t think about heat until we have to turn it on in the fall. Fire marshals across the region have made some suggestions as to preparing your heating equipment for use this winter.

Suggestions include have your furnaces and chimneys cleaned and inspected by a qualified professional; check gaskets and seals on your wood burning and pellet stoves; installing and maintaining carbon monoxide alarms to avoid risk of carbon monoxide poisoning; when using an open fireplace be sure to have glass fireplace doors or fireplace screens in use when burning a fire; space heaters with exposed filaments are not suggested; and use only the approved fuel for each type of heater.

If you have any questions regarding upgrading your heating appliances click “home heating” to get more information from Northeast Distribution.
 
Original article HPBA newscast

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Gone are days of the utilitarian, kind of ugly pellet stoves. Introducing Thelin Pellet stoves. Have you seen them? You need to.

Thelin designs a contemporary and classic series of pellet stoves so you can have heat along with beautiful design no matter your style of décor.

The contemporary pellet stove, the Tiburon, is no ordinary pellet stove. Built with sturdy steel construction, the contemporary design of the Tiburon Pellet Stove, along with an assortment of trim combinations, allows your stove to endure in function and in style. This stove is versatile. With its Panel System you can change the color, style or material of your pellet stove as your tastes and your décor change. In no time at all, with only hand tools, you can change the panels from metal to natural stone or change the vents to art deco. This contemporary pellet stove evolves with your life.

Thelin's Classic Series Pellet Stoves are designed with the traditional home in mind. Three stoves offer timeless heating solutions that are stylish yet durable. These stoves are timeless in their looks and will be the centerpiece of any room.

By-the-way, the Thelin Tiburon Pellet Stove won the 2010 Vesta Award for Pellet Products. This award recognizes and honors companies and products for innovation in design and technology.

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Are you looking for a way to decrease your home energy bills? National Grid has been letting their customers know that the biggest and best energy savings comes from installing a fireplace insert: wood, pellet or gas or a wood or pellet stove.

You can save quite a bit of money each year in energy costs by installing a fireplace insert or wood burning stove. Save even more by taking advantage of the energy tax credit.

Sales of wood burning stoves and fireplace inserts are experiencing a boom fueled by the current economic uncertainty.

People are in search of a way to save on their energy bills.

The rising cost of heating is encouraging people to go back to basics when it comes to keeping warm. The price of oil and gas continues to go up, and for many people it is maddening to pay such high home heating bills.

There has been a huge growth in the sales of pellet and wood stoves and inserts. After the last harsh winter, many energy customers have had enough of paying for heat through that long winter.
Increasingly people have been installing pellet and wood-burning stoves and inserts, turning off the central heating and just getting a roaring fire going in one room in the house.

The availability of cheap fuels to burn and the ability to control exactly how much is spent is driving people towards both pellet and wood stoves and inserts.

It is less expensive to chop or buy wood or buy pellets than to use oil or gas heat and more and more people are installing stoves and inserts in their property. There are no complicated price formulas or unexpected bills involved with a wood-burning stove and people find it reassuring to have their fuel paid for in advance of using it.

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Have you seen the new pellet stoves from Piazzetta? Forget what you thought you knew about pellet stoves, these are beautiful, with a stylish finish, in beautiful, dynamic colors and a gorgeous flame. Made in Italy, the Piazzetta Pellet Stove is strikingly beautiful. Beauty meets function here.

Piazzetta’s history is based on research, innovation, expertise, knowledge and selection of the best materials, and cutting-edge technology all combined with a craftsman’s skill. Piazzetta has been studying advanced solutions since 1960 for heating and comfort, and has a history abounding in care and respect for both customers and the surrounding environment.

The styling of every Piazzetta pellet stove is particularly refined and original. It has been studied to make the most of the materials as well as to offer the maximum possible functionality thus satisfying all tastes and styles. The majolica, the visible flame and the interior of the firebox all enhance the atmosphere created by the fire as well as the performance of each Piazzetta pellet stove.

Piazzetta pellet stoves offer an excellent heat output, low consumption and long burn time. And on top of all that, they also have a reduced rate of emissions into the atmosphere, in line with the most stringent standards. The glass door lets you enjoy the cozy sight of the fire. You can always be sure of having the right atmosphere with Piazzetta products. Whatever the surroundings, the fire becomes pure emotion.

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