Lets do a poll. Best heat source for your house. 4 choices.

[Partners]

Built our house in 1989.
Put a 2x6 with a 2x4 staggered walls.
R 60 in ceilings.
Natural gas with best furnace at the time.
When girls were still at home the gas water heater cost more than heating our 1710 sq ft house.

[Oliver88]

The most efficient and cleanest forms of heat will be carbon taxed the most.
Wood will be cheapest for fuel although more labour and higher fire insurance costs. (Australian Economics has a good option with the wood boiler to reduce labour and avoid high insurance.)

Fossil fuels and wood are required to stay alive in cold Canada.

[blackpowder]

We had oil then gas. Most were coal with mine close by.
Hands down gas today. Always cheapest btu. Until....
I find this strange though.
Heat for a business.
Govt took coal away.
Has full control and raises tax on fuel continuously. Not sure why some here think that's funny.
We'll go back in time to when some were using straw or wheat to heat the whole farm. Like a poor country. Now that's funny.

[Braveheart]

We have geothermal in 2 homes. It is fantastic. 1700 sq ft and the hydro cost is $120/month average. It's clean and quiet.

[6V53]

I built a grain burner about 15 years ago. Did the calculation and wheat would have to be $9.00 a bushel to make it unecanomical back then. 85 bushels provides 90% of the heat for a 2700 sq.ft house and keeps the car garage above freezing. Wish I never hooked up to NG.

[TSIPP]

Mainly wood, wheat when the basement needs to get warmed up.

[oneoff]

For residences

building construction (vapor barrier, 2x6's; double wall construction);
natural gas where you add your voice to right to trench 3 feet deep and supply of CSA gas line at what it actually is sold for; installation cost should be about $1000 plus above costs
Chip away at solar or preferably cogeneration and other supplemental supply where opportunity arises and is within budget or capability.

For rest of farm and way more substantial energy costs
aeration, large shop and electrical bills in thousands of dollars...... this warrants serious thought. Carbon taxes will be onerous and we're going to suffer and absorb those costs. Is it worth planning and fighting for some relief?. Don't expect it from the politicians or electorate who will have decreasing sympathy. They'd foolhardedly expect those costs to be absorbed.

[dalek]

Wood is easy for me. Putting up a new sheep barn in the spring so I’m trying to get ahead of EAB and put a whole bunch of ash through the sawmill to make framing and strapping, the slab wood off that should keep the outdoor furnace going for 2-3 years. Plus the unmarketable wood after I sell firewood and try to keep ahead of thinning 200 acres of hardwood and I can’t burn it fast enough. Kinda thinking about making a kiln to heat with the boiler in the next year or two, seems to be a pretty good market for kiln-dried live edge slabs for the yuppies moving out of Toronto that need the “farmhouse” look

[foragefarmer]

dalek, is the EAB a problem in your area, or are they near by? Where about are you in Ontario, NW region?

Not trying to be nosey but I'm in the Eastern half of MB and a bit nervous about them. I have been watching closely and there are no signs of them as of yet.

Thanks

[dalek]

dalek, is the EAB a problem in your area, or are they near by? Where about are you in Ontario, NW region?

Not trying to be nosey but I'm in the Eastern half of MB and a bit nervous about them. I have been watching closely and there are no signs of them as of yet.

Thanks

I’m almost exactly halfway between Toronto and Ottawa. We’ve had it here for about 5 years now but it hasn’t been as thorough as expected yet, I’d say maybe 10% of my ash overall have been affected in the last 5 years but it’s patchy, 5 acres will have it bad and then 15 acres won’t have any at all.
We’re starting to get hit with maple blight as well which could hurt more than EAB

[jamesb]

If I had the choice I would have natural gas heat. The farm didn't get it in the 80's when they plowed the lines in and the cost to run a mile of line now is unbelievable. The main farm house that I grew up in and live in today was built in 1974 with baseboard electric heat. Not good on one hand but the best thing we did was to reside the house , new windows , doors and lots more insulation. From the before and after test it is amazing the effect on heat retention. Best investment there is IMO. We did add a pellet stove that we burnt cheap grain for years which makes a nice heat. For the past 10 years, we have burnt wood pellets bought at the coop as it makes more sense to sell the grain and buy pellets. You can burn most grains in it but things like light barley and oats create lots of ash that have to be cleaned often whereas the pellets don't make much ash. Its been a great addition. When you have a new build its a lot easier to choose heat but on the international farm you play the cards you are dealt. Solar will come at some point , the technology is improving and the locals that put in the highly subsidized set ups are generally happy.

[jazz]

Solar will come at some point , the technology is improving and the locals that put in the highly subsidized set ups are generally happy.

After I saw that video from Klaus Schwab about the power grid getting hacked, on farm solar looks better and better everyday.