WASHINGTON, Conn. - It sounds goofy, heating your house with kernels of corn.
Jokes? Sure. Polenta power. Popcorn power.
But the Petersons of Washington, Conn., who bought a corn-burning furnace nine years ago, get the last laugh.
“People thought we were weird - up until it started getting cold this past year,” said Todd Peterson. People who once regarded the Petersons' heating system as a curiosity now nod and recognize it for what it is, a viable and economical alternative to heating with oil, gas or electricity.
If until now he was “the guy with the corn furnace,” now the skeptics want to know more. “It's like, all of a sudden, ‘Wait a minute, maybe he knows something,' ” Peterson said.
Peterson's father, John, bought the corn-burning furnace from Ja-Ran Enterprises, a Lexington, Mich., company and installed the system himself.
“We love it. It's great,” John Peterson said. “We started it way back last October, and it ran up until two weeks ago. We burned just short of six tons of corn. Cost: $620. We still have some left.”
The Peterson family, John and his wife, Joan, and sons Todd and Scott, live in a 1,350-square-foot home with a northern exposure. The Petersons say the home stays a constant 70 degrees throughout the winter, regulated by a thermostat, just like a conventional heating system.
The system is analogous to a coal-fired system, only cleaner. The Petersons buy 6 tons of corn kernels from a farm in Salisbury in the fall and, using a chute, dump it into a basement storage bin, 8 feet by 10 feet, the corn piled about 4 1/2 feet high. About once a week, a hopper connected to the furnace is filled with corn kernels, which are automatically fed into the firebox. Even in the coldest weeks of winter, the hopper needs to be filled only once every seven days.
The stove cost Peterson $2,400 in the mid-'90s, he said. The company said it now retails for $3,650. John Peterson said he is certain he saves hundreds of dollars a month over an oil-fired system. He estimated that a corn stove could pay for itself in savings in as little as three years.
Corn furnaces are still uncommon in the Northeast; they are more often seen in the Midwest corn belt, where kernels are even less expensive. Corn kernels also can be bought from feed stores in 50-pound bags, but Peterson said they are more expensive that way.
Randy McLachlan, president of Ja-Ran, said that with increasing oil and gas prices, demand for his corn furnaces is high.
“We are booming,” he said. The furnaces also can burn other renewable energy sources, including rye or cherry pits.
Unlike some wood stoves, John Peterson said, smoke emissions from the corn furnace are all but nonexistent. Little but a faint smell of corn comes from the stack. The furnace produces about a five-gallon pail of ash a month through the heating season.
The Petersons are convinced corn kernels make sense as a fuel and that they are doing their part to avoid dependence on foreign oil.
“I'd rather see farmers or even, dare I say, agribusiness getting our money than Hugo Chavez and the House of Saud,” Todd Peterson said.
Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service
AP-NY-06-12-06 1235EDT
But the Petersons of Washington, Conn., who bought a corn-burning furnace nine years ago, get the last laugh.
“People thought we were weird - up until it started getting cold this past year,” said Todd Peterson. People who once regarded the Petersons' heating system as a curiosity now nod and recognize it for what it is, a viable and economical alternative to heating with oil, gas or electricity.
If until now he was “the guy with the corn furnace,” now the skeptics want to know more. “It's like, all of a sudden, ‘Wait a minute, maybe he knows something,' ” Peterson said.
Peterson's father, John, bought the corn-burning furnace from Ja-Ran Enterprises, a Lexington, Mich., company and installed the system himself.
“We love it. It's great,” John Peterson said. “We started it way back last October, and it ran up until two weeks ago. We burned just short of six tons of corn. Cost: $620. We still have some left.”
The Peterson family, John and his wife, Joan, and sons Todd and Scott, live in a 1,350-square-foot home with a northern exposure. The Petersons say the home stays a constant 70 degrees throughout the winter, regulated by a thermostat, just like a conventional heating system.
The system is analogous to a coal-fired system, only cleaner. The Petersons buy 6 tons of corn kernels from a farm in Salisbury in the fall and, using a chute, dump it into a basement storage bin, 8 feet by 10 feet, the corn piled about 4 1/2 feet high. About once a week, a hopper connected to the furnace is filled with corn kernels, which are automatically fed into the firebox. Even in the coldest weeks of winter, the hopper needs to be filled only once every seven days.
The stove cost Peterson $2,400 in the mid-'90s, he said. The company said it now retails for $3,650. John Peterson said he is certain he saves hundreds of dollars a month over an oil-fired system. He estimated that a corn stove could pay for itself in savings in as little as three years.
Corn furnaces are still uncommon in the Northeast; they are more often seen in the Midwest corn belt, where kernels are even less expensive. Corn kernels also can be bought from feed stores in 50-pound bags, but Peterson said they are more expensive that way.
Randy McLachlan, president of Ja-Ran, said that with increasing oil and gas prices, demand for his corn furnaces is high.
“We are booming,” he said. The furnaces also can burn other renewable energy sources, including rye or cherry pits.
Unlike some wood stoves, John Peterson said, smoke emissions from the corn furnace are all but nonexistent. Little but a faint smell of corn comes from the stack. The furnace produces about a five-gallon pail of ash a month through the heating season.
The Petersons are convinced corn kernels make sense as a fuel and that they are doing their part to avoid dependence on foreign oil.
“I'd rather see farmers or even, dare I say, agribusiness getting our money than Hugo Chavez and the House of Saud,” Todd Peterson said.
Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service
AP-NY-06-12-06 1235EDT
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