Steven Hoak s new wood-burning fireplace insert could become his primary heating source, potentially lowering his gas bill by a whopping 75 percent.

On top of that, he can get a tax credit for his purchase.

"That s just the gravy," said Hoak, who lives in Lakeview in a 600-square-foot house. "I already was planning on getting the fireplace because it s aesthetically pleasing and more fuel efficient. But if they are going to give you money...for making your home more fuel efficient, that s great."

President Obama s stimulus plan offers a tax credit of up to $1,500 to cover 30 percent of the cost and installation of EPA-approved wood-burning and pellet stoves or fireplace inserts.

"The tax credit is a great savings, and you can crank out a lot of heat with a stove or fireplace inserts, giving you additional savings on your heating costs," said Leslie Wheeler, a spokeswoman for the Hearth Patio and Barbecue Association.

The tax credit is an added incentive for homeowners considering buying one of these appliances for zone heating—heating only the rooms you re in—which can knock 20 to 40 percent off their annual heating costs.

"People are coming in and asking about it," said James Downing of Buffalo Fireplace on North Bailey Avenue in Amherst. "For people who are thinking about getting one of these, the tax credit will put them over the edge. Now is a good time to get one."

Mark Stahl, who owns a 2,000-square-foot house, recently bought a free-standing pellet stove that meets the 75 percent

efficiency requirement, making him eligible for the tax credit.

He welcomes the money, but it wasn t his motivation to make the purchase. Stahl was galvanized to buy the pellet stove to avoid the $600 a month his family spent last year for propane to heat their home in Gasport.

"The cost of propane was just killing us," Stahl said. "The tax credit is fine, but we were going to get it anyway."

Stahl will employ the zone-heating technique with his stove. It sits in the living room and will heat most of the house the whole winter for just $300 — the cost of one and a half tons of pellets. His propane furnace will become the secondary heating source.

Zone heating abandons the idea of centrally heating a home with a furnace. Instead, the rooms used the most — the living room and kitchen, for instance — are heated supplementally by a stove or fireplace insert, and the thermostat is kept low.

"You save money that way, because you re not using that much heat," said Bob Powell, general manager of Forest Products Hearth Shop on Roll Road in East Amherst, where Hoak and Stahl bought their appliances.

"If you re not in the room, why do you need to heat it? European countries have been doing this for years. But we are very foolish with our fuel usage, because we try to heat our whole house at high temperatures when we don t need to."

Mark Urbanczyk bought his free-standing pellet stove four years ago and said goodbye to $400- a-month gas bills. He pays $660 a year for the wood pellets that will heat his three-bedroom Cheektowaga home on their own.

"It heats all the bedrooms, everything," he said. His winter gas bill ranges from $75 to $100 for his hot water, dryer and gas stove.

There are various types and styles of appliances to supplement your heat. Wheeler said it depends on the fuel a person wants to use and the amount of work and maintenance they are willing to do. The units typically run from $3,000 to $4,500, including installation, and can heat from 750 to 3,500 square feet.

Homeowners can choose from free-standing pellet and wood-burning stoves or fireplace inserts, which run on biomass fuel, making the higher efficiency models eligible for the tax credit; and gas fireplaces, which are not.

Gas fireplaces — stand-alones or inserts — are easier to maintain and come on by flicking a switch. But they burn nonrenewable fuel, so they don t qualify for the tax credit.

The pellet stove or insert is thermostat-controlled but involves filling the hopper daily with pellets and cleaning the pot once a week. Also, you can t count on it during a power outage, unlike the gas and wood models.

The wood-burning models are the most labor intensive, though. You have to carry the wood, stoke the fire and clean the firebox regularly, plus dispose of the ashes, totaling 15 to 30 minutes a day of work. Wood is ideal when you have a "free, unlimited source of firewood. There s nothing better than free heat," Powell said.

Tom Macaluso bought his direct-vent gas fireplace insert over the summer and he is anticipating savings this coming winter.

"I ll be sitting in the living room most of the winter, and it s kind of hard to control the heat in the rest of the house," said Macaluso, who lives in Lockport. "This way, the room I ll be in the most will be the warmest." His home is 1,400 square feet and his fireplace can heat half that.

"I think every home should have one of these," he said. "It ll cut down on your heating costs, and plus, it looks great."