Home: Renew an Old Flame

The anticipated spike in home heating costs has renewed interest in a fuel long favored by frugal New Englanders: wood. Forget those ugly, polluting wood stoves of yesteryear. Modern stoves burn cleaner and hotter and produce less ash. Pellet stoves--like Dell-Point Technology's Europa ($4,000 to $5,000; pelletstove. com )--run on wood pellets, are the most efficient and have the lowest soot emissions. A ton of pellets costs about $250 and lasts a month and a half (see pelletheat.org ). Those who like hefting an ax should consider the Heritage 8021, which comes with a large window to watch the flames; ($2,100 to $2,400; hearthstonestoves.com ). Check hpba.org for helpful buying info. And make sure to hire an installer certified by the National Fireplace Institute ( nficertified.org ). Now go get yourself a flannel shirt.