If I lived up[ there..just saying, I don't, but I can imagine the heating season and bills..I'd be building a mambo thick walled house or retrofitting to superinsulation standards. Seriously. the whole nine yards, planed air in, all of it.
Most likely cordwood maonry styled walls, at least two foot thick, masonry heater with tons of thermal mass, super insulated walls on the inside, another foot, attic insulation measured in feet. Do it once right, pays off in energy savings and comfort forever.
I know I wouldn't try to keep warm and be tied to no 20 cords plus a year, plus maintenance on some expensive wood boiler. Solid state, no electricity required, a handful of cords a year tops.
I worked on a retrofit in maine, walls/windows/attic/new heater with outside air intake, the owners expensies went from the heating bill cost lots more than the mortgage, in the winter months to a lot of times no heat at all required on milder winter days, the ambient warmth and cooking and electric lights, etc did the job. I am not kidding, saw it with me own peepers, made me a believer.
superinsulation works.
