Firewood

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Firewood

Millhouse Wood

Selecting the right firewood for burning…

Wood from sustainable sources is classed as a renewable, environmentally friendly energy source.

Wood is considered carbon neutral because the CO2 released during combustion balances the CO2 that was absorbed during the trees growth.

As conventional energy prices continue to rise, the use of wood becomes more attractive.

Understanding the different wood types…

There are two different types of wood, hardwood and softwood. Hardwood is a slow growing deciduous type of tree such as Ash, Beech, Oak and Birch.

Softwood is fast growing and typically evergreen or coniferous such as Fir trees, Spruce and Pine.

How to measure in terms of heat…

In terms of heat both softwood and hardwood have approximately the same energy content when oven dried of 5.3kWh/kg.

Hardwood is dense and therefore when compared volumetrically you would need at least double the amount of softwood to give the same amount of heat as burning hardwood.

Softwood is easy to light and is often used as kindling.

The most important factor in terms of combustion is the woods moisture content. A newly felled tree will contain more than 60% water content, burning wood with a moisture content this high is not good for a number of reasons.

At 60% moisture wood can have an energy content of approximately 1.7kWh/kg so you are not getting much if any heat, at 25% moisture this energy content increases to 4 kWh/kg.

If you try to burn wet wood not only is it difficult to light but it produces steam, it contributes to smoke caused by incomplete combustion. The unburnt fuel can result in tar like deposits on the lining of the chimney so contributing to the risk of chimney fires.