Firewood Cord & BTU Comparator
Compare heat value and real delivered cost per million BTU across wood species — and against propane, heating oil, electric, and natural gas.
How this calculator works
Each species has a typical heat value in million BTU per full cord (a stacked 4×4×8 ft pile, 128 cubic feet) of well-seasoned wood. Multiplying that by your appliance's typical efficiency gives the delivered heat you actually get in your living space — which is what really determines cost per unit of warmth, not the raw BTU rating alone.
Where these numbers come from
Species BTU values are drawn from published extension and forestry heat-content charts, including South Dakota State University Extension forest health data and Kansas State University Extension figures cross-referenced against other university forestry sources. Actual heat output varies with moisture content, how well the wood was seasoned, and regional growing conditions — treat these as typical values for properly dried (seasoned) wood, not laboratory-precise numbers.
- Species BTU/cord: South Dakota State University Extension Forest Health Program; Kansas State University Extension forestry data
- Fuel energy content: Propane 91,500 BTU/gal; heating oil 138,500 BTU/gal; electricity 3,412 BTU/kWh; natural gas 100,000 BTU/therm (standard published conversion factors)
- Appliance efficiency ranges: typical published ranges for wood-burning and combustion appliance types
Resinous softwoods (pine, cedar, fir) burn hotter and faster with more sparks and creosote buildup — have your chimney inspected more often if you burn them regularly.
Frequently asked questions
Why do different wood species have such different heat values?
Denser wood species pack more burnable material into the same volume, so a cord of a dense hardwood contains meaningfully more total heat energy (BTUs) than the same-sized cord of a lighter, less dense species.
How is firewood fairly compared against propane or electric heat?
Converting everything to cost per million BTU puts fuels on the same footing regardless of how they're normally sold (per cord, per gallon, per kilowatt-hour), which is the only way to fairly compare firewood's real delivered cost against other heating fuels.
Does wood moisture content affect real heat output?
Significantly — unseasoned, high-moisture wood wastes a good portion of its burn energy just evaporating that water rather than heating your space, so well-seasoned, properly dried wood delivers noticeably more usable heat than the same species burned green.
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