As prices for heating oil and gas go up customers are looking for alternative heating options—such as the old-fashioned wood stoves—according to Carol Turner, co-founder of the nearly four-decade-old Chimney Sweep Energy store in Wallkill, New York.
Sales for wood and pellet stoves have both increased compared to last year, with total store sales up by at least a quarter, she told The Epoch Times on Nov. 4.
Turner’s daughter and salesperson Ruth Loria said the growth had to do with recent world events, such as the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which greatly disrupted the energy market.
According to the New York Home Heating Oil Monitoring Program, heating oil cost $6.18 per gallon on Nov. 7 for residents in the lower Hudson Valley region, including Orange County.
The price is up nearly 70 percent from the past year and more than doubling that of the year before.
Loria said in an energy crisis like this, people—especially those with conservative views—are looking for stability in non-manufactured fuels, such as wood.
Some rediscovered the value of a wood stove in an old house, others chose to install one in a new house—which could cost around $8,000, she told The Epoch Times.
Rich Staffer, a customer at the store, said he installed a pellet stove in addition to his propane heating system eight years ago when the price of propane quadrupled due to a severe shortage.
The decision saved him money, he said. “Pellet [prices] go up and down but not as much as propane.”
Supply Crunch
Due to significant supply chain disruptions, the store orders have waiting times between 2 to 29 weeks, depending on the products and models, Loria said.
In February, Loria ordered 11 stoves—eight of which were already sold—but none of the stoves has arrived at the store yet; in August, she ordered another 24 stoves, which won’t arrive until March 2023.
That means some customers will not be able to use their purchased stoves until next winter.
Even so, Loria encourages them to plan ahead.
“Last year, I had customers walk out because of the waiting time. They come back this year to find the waiting time is even longer—they placed an order right away,” Loria said.
For stove installation, quality service providers in the area have a six-to-eight-week waiting time, she said.
How About Gas Stoves?
Gas stoves remain popular for customers who like the ease of pressing a button to turn on the heat as opposed to the trouble of adding wood or pellets, Loria said.
Freestanding gas stoves do well at zone heating, perfect for resort-area cabins owned by people in New York, she added.
The Chimney Sweep Energy store was founded by Turner and her husband Jack Turner during the global fuel crisis caused by the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s.
They started with one stove in their basement and grew it into a full-service business carrying various hearth products and providing related services.
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Cara is an Orange County, New York-based Epoch Times reporter. She can be reached at cara.ding@epochtimes.com
