Is Wood Expensive as a Fuel?

Wood-Burning Basics

• If you’re using logs to heat your home, you will likely purchase them in a “cord,” which is a unit of measurement; a cord consists of 128 cubic feet of logs pre-split and ready to burn. Any logs you use for wood-burning should be “seasoned,” which means that the wood should dry out for a bit after cutting to burn more effectively. The wood should dry for several months to a year. Store the wood in a sunny location to facilitate the seasoning process.

Wood Pellets

• Using a pellet stove is considered the most efficient way to burn wood for fuel. Pellets are small spheres that resemble rabbit food, comprising wood chips, bark and shavings, or organic materials such as fruit pits or corn kernels. These pellets burn slowly and efficiently; in addition, they produce less pollution than traditional wood-burning stoves. When evaluating the cost of using pellets for fuel, you also must consider the cost of the pellet stove itself, which can run as much as several thousand dollars.

Wood vs. Gas and Oil

• Determining if wood is a cheaper source of fuel than other methods depends in part on the cost of other fuels in your region. Michigan and Connecticut, for example, historically have had higher-than-average prices for gas and oil. If you live on a wooded lot and can cut your own wood for fuel, forestry experts recommend that you select “lower-quality” or crooked trees to burn to promote healthy woodland development. By cutting your own wood, you not only provide cheap fuel for your home, but you also contribute to healthy and rapid reforestation.

Improving Efficiency

• Factors that impact wood-burning efficiency include the type of wood-burning device you use and the kind of wood you select. Old-fashioned fireplaces lose much of the heat from the fire through their chimneys. Some modern fireplaces have metal sidewalls with space for the warm air from the fire to circulate behind the walls, which provides a heat source in addition to the radiant heat from the fire itself. Also consider efficiency when selecting wood to burn. To get the best value, select dense woods that have been thoroughly dried, or seasoned. Some types of woods burn more efficiently than others; for example, hickory burns more efficiently than red cedar or cottonwood.