Last year, the corn fed stove replaced pellet stoves as the hot new home heating appliance on the block.

This year, with higher fossil fuel costs driving home heating concerns and global warming spreading environmental woes, the biomass burning appliance market is heating up with multi-fuel stoves that let you toss in everything from cherry pits to wheat.

"What makes these stoves so appealing across the country is the fact that they are true biomass appliances. Depending on your geographical region, certain renewable fuels are in more abundant supply than others. Corn is readily available in the Midwest. Wood pellets are popular in the northeast. Grains such as wheat, oats, barley and durum have prominence in portions of Canada," said Mike Haefner, president of Hutchinson, MN-based American Energy Systems which produces the Magnum crop of biomass heaters.

The Magnum brand includes models that burn corn, wood pellets, wheat, barley, oats, durum, cherry pits and olive pits, as well as more traditional wood, pellet and corn burners, Haefner says.

Sales of all their biomass fueled appliances has soared 500 percent over the past five years, driven by conscientious consumers who want to heat their homes with less pollution and reliance upon fossil fuels.

With customers on a six-month waiting list, the firm is expanding facilities to crank out 75,000 biomass burners a year by 2007, doubling it's current output.

"More and more homeowners are beginning to decide that dependence on foreign oil is no longer necessary," said Haefner.

Biomass burners are also largely made in America.

"Some of our customers have chosen Magnum appliances simply because it feels good to heat with a renewable heat source grown here in the USA. Some choose our stoves because the appliances are environmentally friendly and contribute positively to decreasing the effects of global warming. All of our customers choose Magnum for the price-savings they see on their monthly heating bill," said Haefner.

The best multi-fuel stoves, when used as an alternative heat source for your home, can cut your energy bill by up to 70 percent, according to Glenda Lehman Ervin of Lehman's, an old fashioned general store in Kidron, OH.

"Multi-fuel stoves, like the GreenFire, allow responsible homeowners to take care of the environment and their wallets at the same time," says Lehman Ervin.

"Purchasing pellets, shelled and dried corn or hulled and dried wheat can be cheaper than buying wood and easier than chopping your own free wood. These alternative fuels are good for the environment because they are made of endlessly renewable materials that do not contribute to climate change the way fossil fuels do," she added.

What's more, a growing number of states and local jurisdictions offer rebates and incentives for buying approved biomass burners and a yet-to-be-funded renewable energy security provision of the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 is designed to provide a discount of 25 percent, capped at $3,000, on qualified biomass burners, according to the Pellet Fuels Institute, which is keeping tabs on the progress for funding the provision.

Still, the $1,500 to $3,000 initial cost of the appliances remain prohibitively high for some consumers, even with a fuel cost savings-related payback in a few years. Also, pellets and wood are generally easy to come by, but obtaining a source of other quality biomass fuels, adequate storage space and an ash disposal plan must precede purchase, manufacturers advise.

Technology has vastly reduced ash levels in the newest products and a broadening distribution network is making fuels easier to obtain.

"Depending on where you live in the country, finding fuel can be as easy as visiting the local feed store," Lehman says. Or, you can find retailers on line at PelletHeat.org. In bread basket states, corn and wheat are popular fuels. In the Pacific Northwest and Northeast, wood pellets may be more readily available," said Lehman Ervin.

Published: September 29, 2006

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A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.