I live in northern MN. Winters can be brutal. My house uses gas for heat. I am thinking about installing a wood burning stove. Lead times on these are not bad right now - it seems not many are looking toward heating when it's 90+ degrees.
Are any of you moving in this direction as part of your prep? Thoughts?
We do all of our heating with a woodstove and a pellet stove. If you can afford it, I HIGHLY recommend Jotul woodstoves or inserts. The one we have puts out a lot more heat than the old Englander we had and is very efficient. Also, if you live near a national forest, you can get a permit and cut your own wood. But, as someone said below, make sure you can get firewood before buying.
When I bought our two stoves several years ago, everybody was switching from pellets and wood to gas stoves because the price of gas had gone down. They tried to talk me into going with gas. I said no way, gas (and propane) will go back up. Pellets are a bit less work but are more expensive and they depend on having electricity. Either stove heats the entire two-floor house by itself. I should say wheezy, 100+ year old frame house where you can feel the cold air coming through the walls and up through the stone cellar.
We have no fireplace so ours are standalone. Inserts are quite a bit cheaper, I think. And of course you don't have to worry about installing a chimney. We have two chimneys but no fireplace - one from when a coal stove was used a long time ago and one installed for the old woodstove.
If you only have an acre, I don't think you'll be able to get all your wood from your lot. Check your local Craig's list and you should be able to find people who will cut and deliver firewood. Make sure you get it soon, both to ensure supply and in case it's not well seasoned.
The national forest permits aren't expensive and I think are good for a ton. Looked it up - $20 for a year and you can collect six cords. Dead wood only but there's plenty. They may vary from forest to forest.