* Wood Many homeowners who’ve moved off heating oil have turned to burning cordwood and pellets, according to Lisa Smith at the Governor’s Energy Office. Thirteen percent of Maine homes now rely on wood heat, the second-highest rate in the country, as counted by the 2010 U.S. Census. Smith only started tracking wood-pellet prices two […]
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Posted inMaine
Low-cost heating oil to fuel household spending
Some years, finding a good-news story about heating oil is as likely as discovering a purple unicorn grazing in Baxter State Park. Then there’s this year. Behold, the unicorn: If prices stay as they are this very minute, Mainers who heat with oil — and most do — will save big this winter. By their […]
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Posted inBusiness
Maine warms up to wood
Josh Goodfellow bought a pellet stove last year. “Wicked happy ’bout it,” said the Lewiston man. He figures he saved more than $500 last heating season — a good way toward paying off his new stove. When No. 2 heating oil hit $4.26 a gallon, Rich St. John decided that was it. He pulled the […]
Posted inMaine
Oil use drops; Efficiency Maine announces incentives to lower use here even more
Maine is the most heating-oil dependent state in the country, but figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census show its use here continuing to wane: 67.5 percent of homes relied on oil for their primary heat source in 2012, down from 69 percent in 2011 and 80.2 percent in 2000. Industry officials point to a […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine
Maine warms up to wood
Josh Goodfellow bought a pellet stove last year. “Wicked happy ’bout it,” said the Lewiston man. He figures he saved more than $500 last heating season — a good way toward paying off his new stove. When No. 2 heating oil hit $4.26 a gallon, Rich St. John decided that was it. He pulled the […]