One of the most efficient ways to heat your home during the frigid winter months is by using either a fireplace or wood stove. One cord of firewood produces the heating equivalent to burning about 250 gallons of heating oil. Of course, this all depends on the type of wood you are using in your fireplace or wood stove.
The Rankings
Essentially when it comes to firewood, the denser the wood is, the better off you are when it comes to home heating. Below is a list of the best rated by BTU’s (the traditional unit of heat) per cord:
- Oak
- Beech
- Apple
- Mulberry
- Maple
- Walnut
- Juniper
- Birch
- Douglas-fir
- Cherry
- Ash
- Elm
- Sycamore
- Hemlock
- Aspen
- Chestnut
- Willow
- Alder
- Pine
- Cottonwood
- Spruce
- Cedar
The Good
As you can see oak is the best choice for heating your Massachusetts home this winter. Producing over 26 million BTUs per cord you will definitely be getting more bang for your buck when using oak rather than oil or other forms of firewood.
If you prefer not to use oak, beech and apple wood are also not bad choices. Producing 23 and 22 million BTUs per cord respectively- you’ll still be able to get some serious heating output from your stove or fireplace with these types of firewood.
The Bad
Some woods you definitely want to avoid using to heat your home are spruce and cedar. Producing 15 and 13 million BTUs per cord, you can find many better options out there that will get you many more BTUs per cord.
One other consequence to look out for when selecting a firewood type is if it produces a creosote buildup while burning. Creosote is a highly flammable, messy residue that over time will build up from burning soft and oily woods (pine, cottonwood, spruce) especially if they are not treated and dried. These types of woods can be used to start a fire as they burn very fast and hot, but are not suitable for long term heating use.
Get Firewood in Norwood, MA
If you are looking to make your next firewood order Lola’s Landscape has you covered. We chop the firewood into our trucks and deliver it straight to your home. We also only use the best firewood for heating your home; oak, cherry and ash- so you know you’re getting only the best. To see our rates and areas we deliver to check out our Firewood information page here!
