Published: November 30, 2008 11:34 pm      

In popularity and controversy, outdoor furnaces are heating up

LILLY — Jamie Hartline and his family live in a home where the winter temperature hovers around 70 degrees – yet their heating bills are less than some people’s sewer bills.

The Hartlines are part of a growing number of people in the Cambria-Somerset area heating their homes with wood or coal outdoor furnaces.

“Financially, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I don’t have any regrets,” said Hartline, who lives on the mountain overlooking Lilly. “The thing is, you have to be willing to do the work. It’s not easy.”

Morning and evening, Hartline, an elementary school teacher and a Washington Township supervisor, feeds the 38-inch box with six to eight large logs.

The fire tending is a small part of the work. He does spend much of the summer cutting firewood from the stand of hardwoods and softwoods growing on the 20-acre tract he owns around his house.

Hartline estimates it could cost as much as $3,000 a year to keep his home at 70 degrees using heating fuel. And with an initial expenditure of about $7,000, the furnace pretty much paid for itself in the first two years of operation.

But the savings go even further because his system also heats water year-round for his family of four.

The furnace work in the summer requires tending about every four days, he said.

Hartline purchased his outdoor furnace in 2005 in an initial wave of popularity repeated a few months ago when crude oil went to $150 a barrel. That price move got furnace salesman David Nolan’s phone ringing off the hook.

“There’s been a very big increase. This year (demand) has been very good,” Nolan said, estimating his workload has increased by 50 percent from 2007.

Robin Weaver, owner of Mahoning Wood Furnaces, said workers at her plant outside of Mahaffey struggle to meet the demand.

“We’ve been bombarded with orders. As soon as they’re made, they’re out the door,” Weaver said. “We’re months behind. We just can’t keep up.”

While Hartline’s costs are minimal because of readily available free timber, wood for a furnace could cost as little as $800 a year, said K.R. Zeigler, president of sales at Corle Building Systems, Imler.

Corle, a metal fabricating company with a long history in custom pre-engineered metal buildings, jumped on the outdoor furnace craze earlier this year and has doubled its projected sales.

“Last spring, we had plans to make 50 furnaces. We’ve already almost doubled our capacity,” Zeigler said.

Paul Miller, deputy director of the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, said 2005 figures – the latest available – show Pennsylvania with 11,800 outdoor furnaces. But it appears today’s figure is much higher and growing.

“When oil prices spiked (and gasoline was) $4 a gallon, there was a run on these devices,” said Miller, of the nonprofit group providing scientific data on air quality in the Northeast.

The problem is that the furnaces often are used in more densely populated areas, he said.

NESCAUM is encouraging state and local governments to adopt installation and operational standards to minimize problems.

“We got involved to try to get ahead of the curve,” Miller said.

Unlike many furnace owners, Hartline’s home is in a remote area with plenty of room between he and his neighbors.

Nolan understands the push to be free of high fuel prices.

“People can’t afford the heating oil. What are they going to do?” he said.

Common sense and consideration for the neighborhood is key, said Nolan, who is working overtime to install the furnaces he sells.

The unit needs to be away from structures, the flue needs to be tall enough to carry the smoke above the roof lines, and the fuel needs to be wood or coal.

“It’s a common-sense issue,” Nolan said.