When you are burning wood in your home stove or fireplace, it is important that you are burning the right wood. But what constitutes as the right type of wood?

To get the most out of your stove you need to be burning firewood that is properly sourced and dried. But why is it so important to burn dry wood?

We use home stoves to produce heat for our home. The more efficient that fire is, the easier and quicker it is to heat each room and the more money you can save in the long run. Consider the heat energy created by the fire – when we burn dry wood, the energy is focused on creating heat, which in turn, heats our home.

When you are burning wet wood, a lot of the energy is focused on boiling the water in the wood, energy that is unable to escape as heat. Many people question whether we should be burning dry wood because of the speed in which it burns, with some stating that it burns too fast. But on the contrary, quicker burning logs are a much more efficient use of the heat energy generated.

Those who burn wood at home must ask themselves the question of how much it costs to buy the amount of wood that is required to make it through winter. If you take moisture content in mind, consider the burn value of a stack of wet logs versus a stack of the same type of wood that has been kiln dried. The wood that has been properly dried has much more value compared to the wet logs. The wet logs are heavier, sure, but the quality drastically reduces the heat output. Wet wood also has poor combustion, increasing smoke production as well as tars and creosotes that can damage your flue.

Firewood supply is still very much a ‘cottage’ industry and local firewood and coal merchants are definitely recommended as the best way to source your home fuel. It is a great rural industry that provides work for many.