The house I am buying is a ranch on a crawl space. The crawl is not easily accessible.
The house is small. It is heated by a propane furnace. I want to add the ability to heat with wood. I have been reading about rocket mass stoves, but I don't think there's enough space for one.
A previous home was similar in design. It had a wood burning fireplace and entertainment center built-in on one living room wall, which took out 2 feet of floor space along that wall. The new house is just big enough to put a similar unit on a living room wall. That wall will also house the TV, sound system, and hundreds of books.
I know that traditional fireplaces waste most of the heat, but I managed to make it through the aftermath of some bad storms, with no power and no furnace, using just a fireplace. It was not ideal, but it kept us warm and it kept the entire house above freezing (so the pipes did not freeze).
What I am wanting to do is to install a far more efficient wood burning fireplace/heater that takes up no more space than a traditional fireplace. I want to be able to heat my house in an emergency and I want the ambiance of watching a fire.
I am looking for suggestions.