Since we’ve become the Econoburn wood boiler dealer in Central Wisconsin, I’ve learned that many people believe that energy consumption directly correlates to the size of a home. This is a myth that really needs to be put to rest.
Square footage does not correlate to energy consumption.
The amount of energy a building requires for heating and cooling is related far less to its size than to its construction. A highly energy efficient home may only need a fraction of the BTU’s per square foot than one that is leaky and poorly insulated.
As a real world example, I talked to a man today with a 1500 sq. ft. home on which he spends $500 per month to heat with propane. Now, natural gas is a lot cheaper, but even assuming that propane is twice as expensive, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to imagine heating a new, well-insulated 5,000 sq. ft house on $125/mo of natural gas – only half the BTU’s of this man’s modestly sized home.
As an extreme example, a home built according to Passive House construction may not even need a heating system at all – even in Wisconsin!
Before you choose a wood boiler…
When sizing a home for a wood boiler or any other heating system, the size of the home in square footage is nearly irrelevant. Instead, it’s very important to assess the home’s heating history and (especially in the case of a new home being built) its construction.
Although certainly helpful, a full home performance test isn’t absolutely necessary. However, if your home is truly inefficient, you might consider upgrading your home performance through measures like air sealing and insulation before or in conjunction with investing in new heating equipment. You might just knock your heating needs down enough to reduce the size of the boiler you need – or at least spend less time chopping wood!
The size of a home matters less than its efficiency, whether you're choosing an indoor or outdoor wood boiler.