What is the best firewood to burn for heat? Winter is coming, so if you don’t have seasoned firewood ready, finding the best you can for those cold months is important.
What is the best wood to burn at home
Choosing your firewood to burn at home for heat should start with how hot it will burn. Then, it can depend on your personal preferences.
Most people prefer woods that are easy to light, have low smoke and a pleasant smell. (You can see a list of best firewood types here.)
There are a number of choices (obviously), but many of our customers want to use their fireplace to supplement the heat in their homes. That’s when knowing the best types of firewood for heat comes into play.
Choosing the best firewood to burn chart
We often are asked what type of wood burns the hottest. And, if you didn’t know, some woods burn hotter than others. The following information will help you learn more about how much heat different types of wood produce.
Firewood BTU ratings
The term “firewood BTU” means the amount of energy a fuel source (firewood, in this case) has. The higher the BTU, the more heat it will produce. So, it stands to reason, you want to choose woods with a higher BTU.
“BTU stands for British Thermal Unit, which is the amount of energy required to heat one pound of water by one degree fahrenheit.”
Best firewood chart
Below, you’ll find the best firewood chart that shows the BTU’s for popular hardwoods and softwoods. It can help you choose the best firewood to burn for heat.
It includes information about wood species, pounds per cord dry and BTU per cord.
| HARDWOODS | ||
| Species | Million BTU’s per Cord | Pounds Per Cord Dry |
| Osage Orange | 32.9 | 4728 |
| Shagbark Hickory | 27.7 | 4327 |
| Eastern Hornbeam | 27.1 | 4016 |
| Black Birch | 26.8 | 3890 |
| Black Locust | 26.8 | 3890 |
| Blue Beech | 26.8 | 3890 |
| Ironwood | 26.8 | 3890 |
| Bitternut Hickory | 26.5 | 3832 |
| Honey Locust | 26.5 | 4100 |
| Apple | 25.8 | 3712 |
| Mulberry | 25.7 | 4012 |
| Beech | 24 | 3757 |
| Northern Red Oak | 24 | 3757 |
| Sugar Maple | 24 | 3757 |
| White Oak | 24 | 3757 |
| White Ash | 23.6 | 3689 |
| Yellow Birch | 21.8 | 3150 |
| Red Elm | 21.6 | 3112 |
| Hackberry | 20.8 | 3247 |
| Kentucky Coffeetree | 20.8 | 3247 |
| Gray Birch | 20.3 | 3179 |
| Paper Birch | 20.3 | 3179 |
| White Birch | 20.2 | 3192 |
| Black Walnut | 20 | 3120 |
| Cherry | 20 | 3120 |
| Green Ash | 19.9 | 2880 |
| Black Cherry | 19.5 | 2880 |
| American Elm | 19.5 | 3052 |
| White Elm | 19.5 | 3052 |
| Sycamore | 19.1 | 2992 |
| Black Ash | 18.7 | 2924 |
| Red Maple (Soft Maple) | 18.1 | 2900 |
| Boxelder | 17.9 | 2797 |
| Catalpa | 15.9 | 2482 |
| Aspen | 14.7 | 2295 |
| Butternut | 14.5 | 2100 |
| Willow | 14.3 | 2236 |
| Cottonwood | 13.5 | 2108 |
| American Basswood | 13.5 | 2108 |
| SOFTWOODS | ||
| Species | Million BTU’s per Cord | Pounds Per Cord Dry |
| Rocky Mountain Juniper | 21.6 | 3112 |
| Tamarack | 20.8 | 3247 |
| Jack Pine | 17.1 | 2669 |
| Norway Pine | 17.1 | 2669 |
| Pitch Pine | 17.1 | 2669 |
| Hemlock | 15.9 | 2482 |
| Black Spruce | 15.9 | 2482 |
| Eastern White Pine | 14.3 | 2236 |
| Balsam Fir | 14.3 | 2236 |
| Eastern White Cedar | 12.2 | 1913 |
Additional info about the best firewood to burn for heat
The density of the wood affects how much energy is in the wood. Therefore, a cord of hardwood has more energy than one of softwood.
To get the most energy out of your firewood the wood should be seasoned. Seasoned firewood is typically understood to mean having a 20% moisture content.
BTU’s decrease when the wood is green. This is due to the amount of energy required to evaporate the moisture in the wood. So, don’t burn green wood if you want heat.
A cord of wood is 128 cubic feet. Generally, that equates to a 4ft. x 4ft. x 8ft. stack. Due to air space between pieces, amongst other factors, the actual amount of solid wood will be less