A common question I get asked is, how much firewood will I need to heat my home? The answer to this question will depend on several variables.

The first variable is where you live and how cold it gets and how long your cold season lasts. If you live in a place like Minnesota it will obviously take more wood to keep your house warm than if you live in California. The amount of firewood you burn will also vary from year to year since some years are colder than others.

The size of your home and how well insulated it is will make a big difference. Large homes will take more wood to heat them and so will homes with high ceilings. Older homes with little insulation and drafty doors and windows will also require more wood.

Different types of stoves and fireplaces will burn more or less wood. Open fireplaces and poorly constructed wood stoves are much less efficient than modern wood stoves with high efficiency ratings.

Do you heat exclusively with wood or are you just going to use it as a supplement? For some people wood heat is their only heat source and for others burning wood is something they only do once in a while. This will obviously make a big difference in how much wood you will burn

The type of wood you use will make a difference. Denser hardwoods have more energy than softwoods so it will take less hardwood to produce the same amount of heat.

Your own habits are another big factor. Do you heat your home 24 hours a day or do you let the fire go out at night or when you are away from home at work? If you stay at home and keep your fire going all day and night this alone could double the amount of wood you burn.

As you can probably see, the question of how much firewood you will need to heat your home is not an easy one to answer. The only real way to know is to go through a winter and keep track of how much you burn. I have customers that burn 2 or 3 cords a year but I also have one who burns 8. There are also some who only buy a half cord a year because they only burn wood once in a while.

If wood heat is your main heat source a good way to do it your first year is to get 2 or 3 cords to start. Part way through the winter look at how much you have burned and determine if what you have left is going to be enough to get you through the rest of the winter. If not start shopping around to get more before you run out.

When stocking up with firewood it's better to have too much than too little. Whatever you have left over you can always burn it next year.

Get more firewood tips go to FirewoodResource.com.

Get your questions answered at our interactive firewood forum. If you describe your heating needs other members may be able to give you an idea of how much wood you may need.

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