Is it cheaper to heat your house with wood or with gas?

The wood math

If you own timber or don't mind working for your winter, wood is unbeatable — the fuel is your labor, and plenty of families up our mountain roads heat all season for the cost of chainsaw gas and a sharp blade. Buy seasoned hardwood by the cord instead and the savings shrink; heat you haul, stack, and feed twice a day is cheaper on paper than it feels in February.

The gas math depends on your road

Gas costs depend on which fuel your road runs on. Natural gas along the Asheville and Hendersonville mains — Fletcher and Arden too — is the cheaper gas heat, delivered by pipe with no tank to fill. Out in Fairview, Candler, Brevard, and the cabins, it's propane, which typically costs more per unit of heat and arrives by truck. Propane also burns hotter per unit and needs the right orifices and pressures — set up wrong, it soots — which is one more reason this is licensed work in North Carolina, and ours.

Half your fuel bill is the appliance

Whatever the fuel costs, the appliance decides how much of it becomes heat in your room. An open masonry fireplace can actually run a net heat loss — the most expensive firewood you'll ever burn. A sealed insert commonly runs 70% efficient or better; the Regency Cascades F1500 wood stove hits 78%.

That's why we won't crown a winner in the wood-versus-gas cost fight without seeing the house: fuel access, appliance, and how you actually live all move the answer. The in-home assessment is free — call (828) 545-0525 and we'll run your numbers honestly.