As we prepare for cooler temperatures a local manufacturer says there's another clean way to heat your home...

The wood burning stoves of today are 97% cleaner than your grandpa's wood stove.

One load of wood can last more than 10 hours in the new stoves.

Plus, advocates say, when you factor in the cost of harvesting and transportation, the carbon footprint is smaller than that of natural gas or propane.

Clay Dennis, President of Southern Hearth & Patio says, "Wood being a fossil fuel is gonna have methane, methanol, nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, most of which will burn at 850 degrees. So what the manufactures have done is figured out a way to slow down the release of the gasses and actually ignite them. So while wood is certainly the basis for where we're getting these by-products, the by-products are giving us the heat."

Dennis continues, "When I buy gas or I get my gas bill I know I'm building another tower in Dubai or I'm feeding a national corporation. When you buy wood from a local supplier you're actually feeding a neighbor."

Another alternative...pellet burning wood stoves.

These stoves produce no smoke, but do require electricity.