Heating a Homestead with Wood

How to plan a winter's wood from species to seasoning to safe burning, with the heat values, cord math and safety checks you need.

Why wood heat takes planning

Wood is a renewable fuel that many rural homes can supply from their own land or nearby sources, but it asks for planning that other fuels do not. The wood has to be cut, split, stacked and dried a year or more ahead, you have to know how much you need, and the stove and chimney need regular care. Done well, wood heat is dependable and economical. Done badly, it wastes heat, fills the chimney with creosote and risks a house fire.

How much wood will you need?

There is no single answer, because the amount depends on your climate, the size and insulation of the house, how much of your heating the stove supplies and how efficient it is. Many homes that heat mainly with wood burn somewhere between 2 and 6 cords in a season, with big drafty houses in cold places using more. The most reliable method is to track your own use. In your first winter, note how many cords you burn and how cold the winter was, and then plan the next year with a margin. If you plan to heat entirely with wood, aim to have two winters' worth in various stages of seasoning at once.

Know your cord

A full cord is a stack 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 8 feet long, or 128 cubic feet. Sellers also use terms such as face cord, rick and truckload, which mean different amounts. A face cord of 16-inch logs is about one-third of a full cord. The firewood volume converter converts between these terms and cubic feet. Always ask a seller for the dimensions of what you are buying and how the wood is stacked, because loose piles hold less wood than tight stacks. Some states define the cord by law and restrict other terms in sales.

Species and heat value

Dense hardwoods hold more heat per cord than light softwoods. The values below are approximate, in millions of BTU per cord, and differ between sources.

Species	BTU per cord (millions)	Seasoning time
Hickory	27 to 30	1 to 2 years
Black locust	26 to 29	1 to 2 years
Oak	24 to 29	1 to 2 years
Sugar maple	21 to 24	6 to 12 months
Ash	20 to 24	6 to 12 months
Black cherry	20 to 21	6 to 12 months
Red maple	18 to 20	6 to 12 months
White pine	15 to 17	3 to 6 months

Heat value is only part of the picture. Availability, price, how hard the wood is to split and how long it takes to dry all matter. The Firewood Species Finder asks about your goals and returns the best fit with a comparison, and the firewood cord and BTU comparator compares species and cord sizes by heat delivered. Many households keep two woods: a dense hardwood for the cold core of winter and a lighter wood for kindling and mild weather.

Seasoning wood properly

Green wood contains a lot of water, and burning it wastes heat on boiling that water away. It also burns at lower temperatures, which leaves creosote on the chimney. The target is wood at or below about 20 percent moisture. A moisture meter is inexpensive and the best test: split a piece, and read the fresh face.

Split wood small. Splitting exposes more surface and dries it much faster than whole rounds.
Stack it off the ground on pallets or rails, in a sunny, windy spot with space between rows.
Cover the top of the stack, but leave the sides open to airflow.
Start early. Plan to cut and stack in spring for burning in the following winter at the earliest, and longer for oak and hickory.

Stoves, chimneys and safety

A modern EPA-certified stove burns cleaner and gets more heat from each cord than an older stove or an open fireplace. Install it according to the manufacturer's instructions and your local code, with the required clearances to walls and floors, and have it inspected where required. Insurers often have their own requirements.

Have your chimney inspected every year and cleaned when needed, since creosote deposits can ignite. Burn hot, clean fires with dry wood, and avoid damping the fire down for long smouldering burns. Install working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors on every level, and test them regularly. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby. Store ashes in a metal container with a lid, placed on a non-combustible surface away from the house and anything flammable, since ash can hold hot coals for days.

Cutting and splitting safely

Chainsaws and splitting tools cause serious injuries. Wear eye and ear protection, gloves, sturdy boots and, for chainsaw work, cut-resistant chaps and a helmet. Learn how to fell trees safely, or hire a professional for large or leaning trees, and never cut alone. A hydraulic splitter reduces strain on large, tough wood, and a splitting maul or axe works for smaller pieces. Keep tools sharp and work in a clear area.

Sourcing wood sustainably

Wood from your own land is the cheapest if you have a woodlot and time. Take dead, diseased and crowded trees first, and let good trees grow. Tree services, storm cleanup and land-clearing jobs often have wood to give away. If you mill lumber, offcuts make good kindling, and the sawmill board feet calculator estimates what a log will yield. Do not move firewood far. Insects such as the emerald ash borer travel in firewood, and many states restrict moving it across county or state lines, so buy local and check the rules.

Comparing the cost of wood with other fuels

To compare wood with oil, propane or electricity, convert each to cost per million BTU delivered. As an illustration only, if a cord of oak at 24 million BTU costs $300, the fuel costs $12.50 per million BTU. If heating oil, which contains about 138,500 BTU per gallon, costs $4 a gallon, that is about $28.90 per million BTU. Then adjust for efficiency, since a modern wood stove might deliver 65 to 80 percent of the fuel's heat to the room and an oil furnace 80 to 90 percent. Use your own local prices, and remember the time, equipment and storage that wood needs.

A yearly wood routine

Season	Job
Spring	Cut and split next winter's wood, stack and cover it. Clean the stove and have the chimney inspected
Summer	Move and re-stack, check moisture, keep stacks aired
Early autumn	Bring a few weeks' wood under cover, test detectors, check clearances
Winter	Burn the driest wood first, empty ashes safely, check the chimney for buildup

Common mistakes to avoid

Burning wood that has not seasoned.
Buying wood by a vague unit without knowing the dimensions.
Skipping the annual chimney inspection.
Smouldering a fire for hours to save wood, which builds creosote.
Storing ashes in a cardboard box or plastic bin.

Read our disclaimer and safety notes before relying on any figure, and see the off-grid water and power guide for the rest of your rural infrastructure.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether my firewood is dry enough?

Use a moisture meter on a freshly split face. Wood at or below about 20 percent burns cleanly. Cracked ends, light weight and a hollow knock are good signs, but only a meter gives a number.

Is heating with wood cheaper than other fuels?

It can be, especially if you cut your own, but it depends on local prices and the time you spend. Compare each fuel by cost per million BTU delivered after allowing for the efficiency of your stove or furnace.

Can I burn pallets or scrap lumber?

Only if you are certain it is untreated. Avoid pressure-treated, painted, stained or glued wood, and pallets marked MB, which were fumigated with methyl bromide. Heat-treated pallets stamped HT are generally considered acceptable.

Is pine bad for a wood stove?

Seasoned pine is fine in a stove that runs hot enough. Creosote comes mainly from wet wood and smouldering fires, so dry wood and a hot burn matter more than the species.