Have you had a chance to watch this wonderful video with Rob Trott about saving a ton of money on your heating bills and using “home grown” renewable energy? To watch the video in its entirety, start with the video at the top of the screen and work down, through all three.

You’ve sold me on using renewable energy to heat my home, but how do I go about choosing the right appliance for my home?

Since we were kids the statement “mine is better than yours” has caused many a fight and black eyes. Marketing hype and sales people bent on getting you to buy “their product” has sent your mind spinning. Just how do you select the “right” appliance?  Are all corn stoves created equal?

Research is the answer.

Today, manufacturers like American Energy Systems, have informative web sites http://magnumheat.com that carefully explain each product’s features so that you can choose just the right one for your heating needs. Some companies in the market have appliances that only burn one type of fuel. This can be a challenge when that fuel is in short supply and the price to get it goes through the roof.

The best advice is to choose an appliance like the MagnuM or Country Flame product line that offers multi-fuel capabilities. Then you can choose the fuel that is suitable for your area, availability, and of course,  your pocketbook.

Picking an appliance that is designed for one fuel and burning another can lead to problems that are not going to make you happy. When looking for an appliance make sure that the company has been building the product for a long time, and it has a positive track record. Choosing the right application for your needs will result in many years of affordable, renewable energy for your family.

photo credit: helgasms!

Everywhere you look and read, someone is talking about “going green”.

Most traditional methods of heating homes and offices rely on fossil fuels, which has garnered attention in the “green movement”. As we all start to focus our attention on alternative energy options…

…there has been a lot of discussion about using corn as a fuel.

Universities across the nation have done studies along with environmental groups, and the consensus is that the life cycle of corn burning results in a neutral or slightly positive effect on our environment.

What does that mean? It means that the emissions are very low compared with wood burning, and it also means that the end cost to our environment and to our economy is positive.

There is a high cost associated with our traditional ways of heating. Political, social, environmental impact are only a few ways we pay the price for sticking with “tradition”. When we take a look at the cost of war associated with protecting our traditional fossil fuels alone, using renewable energy right here at home takes on a broader meaning.

Have you considered using a corn stove to heat your home or business?  What is stopping you?

photo credit: jessicareeder

You hear so much today about biomass and flex-fuel stoves that are able to burn a variety of renewable fuel sources, but have you ever wondered how wood pellets fit into this mix?

Maybe you are wondering

• What wood pellets are made out of?
• Where the wood comes from?
• Does the formation of wood pellets harm trees or our environment?

Wood Pellets have been made primarily out of saw dust created in the millwork of lumber. This has been expanded into pellets made from waste paper, garbage and other waste products.

Wood Pellets help clean up the decaying of scrap and downed wood that actually helps clean the environment by controlling the combustion of the wood rather than just letting it sit out in the weather and rot.

There is research being done today on numerous agri-fuel waste products such as the distillers grain left over from the production of ethanol, waste from the harvesting of agri-crops and even things like coffee husks, etc.

More agri-fuel waste research? Now, that’s something our kids can cheer about!

Want to know what it will cost you to heat with wood pellets? Here’s a great fuel calculator and fuel comparison chart to help. 

 photo credit: Joyseph

Many people are excited about the prospect of saving money and burning corn for heat, but have questions about how alternative heat and fuel accessibility works for people in larger cities. After all, they don’t necessarily have corn fields in their backyards like many mid-westerners.

So how do you access and/or buy corn if you live in an urban area and want to use a corn stove?

Corn and other Bio-Mass/Agri-Fuels have been distributed world wide for many years. The industry today is providing several alternatives for getting the fuel of choice right to your home or local distribution centers. Bulk delivery, bagged fuel, and personalized service are part of the package when purchasing a corn stove these days.

American Energy Systems was instrumental in putting a corn silo in downtown Tacoma Park, Maryland in full view of the White House to show that fuel can be supplied anywhere people want to conserve energy.

There was a great blog post written a while back in support of corn stoves, alternative energy, the corn silo project in Tacoma Park, and American Energy Systems by Mike Tidwell. You can read his article here, called “Maryland’s First 90% Renewable-Energy Home; The story of how one Takoma Park family is fighting global warming on a budget, and how you can do it too”

Here’s a quick video tutorial in helping you decide if heating with renewable energy is right for you and your home:

American Energy Systems has a rich history of providing superior corn stoves and flex-fuel heating appliances; including fireplaces and furnaces. We are pleased to offer a blog community to people passionate about using alternative energy to heat their homes and offices.

If you want to shop online and skip directly to our extensive Magnum and Country Flame product lines, please jump over to our Main Website at Magnum Heat. To go directly to our Magnum E-com Store click here.

For specific questions or assistance with one of our appliances, you can participate in our online Magnum Forum -which is getting rave reviews for quick, easy access to all your technical needs. 

 Cme2heatitup on Ebay, one of American Energy System’s Resellers, sells overstock, scratch and dent, and  special promotion units for wholesale prices. These are one of a kind items and deals, as Cme2heatitup is the ONLY authorized AES online Reseller that can sell DEMO units for full factory warranty.

If a show room is more your style, and you’d love to see a corn or pellet stove in action, you can find a dealer near you! Just use our Magnum and Country Flame locator!

For a fun, new community of people passionate about heating their homes with alternative energy, you can join our Fan Page on Facebook at Facebook.magnumheat.com Be sure to leave us a comment so we can say “hi”!

We are active on Twitter now too, so follow us at Twitter.com/alternativeheat Be sure to @ reply so we can follow you back! We love the discussions on Twitter going on about green living, saving money, burning corn, and alternative energy for heat. Weigh in!

We are working hard to offer countless videos featuring all our our Magnum and Country Flame products. Dozens of easy to understand and helpful demonstrational videos are posted on Magnum Heat channel of YouTube. From trouble shooting and venting, to choosing your corn or wood pellets to buy, we’re here to help.