Winter heat in a small package

"Hotter than blue blazes" might sound cozy very soon.

Getting there could be cost-prohibitive. Prices of oil-based energy sources have risen considerably in the past year, as any consumer at the gas pumps can attest. Natural gas and propane follow that trend. Local heating-fuel vendors estimate increases ranging from more than 10 percent to at least 30 percent since August 2007.

One alternative is pellet fuel.

James Kneller of The Chimney Doctors Custom Fireplaces in South Jackson promotes stoves that heat by burning pellets that look like livestock food, corn and grain. Harman Stove Co. products are on the showroom floor with wood-burning items by Vermont Castings items and other top-of-the-line manufacturers, plus fireplaces, grates, mantels and accessories.

"There's been a renewed interest in wood burning," he said. "Cord wood is the cheapest and most dependable way to heat."

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