My daughter's college friend is using one in IL and loves it! Another very good alternative to natural gas is electric heating. It is FAR cheaper to heat with electricity than natural gas now. Many utility companies even offer a reduced rate for electric space heating.

I took a brief look at the PSU site (seems very helpful! Thank you.) but didn't see anything discussing the energy, land and fertilizer requirements of corn production.  I've heard corn takes a lot from the soil and often uses a lot of petroleum-derived fertilizers as well as energy to plow, harvest and process.

Suppose an individual or small community wanted to grow corn as a heat source.  If say, 10,000 pounds of corn were required to heat one dwelling for one winter, how many acres of corn would be required to produce that amount?  Is it feasible to not use petroleum-based fertilizers?  How much compost would be needed?  What methods can be used to shell and dry the corn?  Is growing another crop and producing bio-diesel a better or easier alternative (for the individual or small community)?

Any ideas or places to look for answers?  I'm looking to buy some land soon (real soon) and am starting to think of long range energy issues like this.  I'm worried that 10 years from now, buying corn may not be as economical as it is now, and in any case I would prefer to grow my own.

Thank you for the time and energy you're putting into the group and this site.