Have you thought about using firewood as a primary source of heat for your home? Maybe you love the sound of a fire crackling in the hearth, or feel there is something special about the heat that comes from a woodstove. Perhaps you are surrounded by trees and think maybe they could help save money on a heating bill. Many individuals and families, with great intentions, choose to use a stove or fireplace for heating their home, only to be disappointed. While the initial decision may seem straightforward, there are critical factors that should be evaluated before startup.
Access
Do you have long-term, sustainable access to firewood? Firewood removal may be part of the management for the health and sustainability of forests, either private or public. Some areas have ample sources available. Many areas have standing dead firewood that is frequently harvested in fall, but do you have access during summer, or when wildfire danger is high? Late spring and early summer may be best to harvest a firewood supply, as they provide plenty of time for firewood to season over warm summer months. Seasoning allows moisture and sap in firewood to dry. Wood that isn’t seasoned can burn poorly or contribute to problems in chimneys. Consider if you can gather enough wood to keep your home warm year round.
How easy is it to get to useable timber? Can you minimize the impact of vehicles and equipment on the landscape where you are harvesting? Once firewood is removed, how will you manage the slash? Slash is the bark pieces, smaller limbs and leaves of trees that isn’t used for firewood. It is very important that you reduce the slash. Chopping and scattering the limbs on the ground to a depth of six inches or less allows nature to take its course, with decomposition happening within two to three years.
What kind of timber is available? There are many different species of trees that can be burned, and all of them require attention in seasoning and burning to maximize their heat potential. Lodgepole pines and cottonwood are very different, from cutting, to splitting to burning. Make sure you know what you are cutting and learn how to maximize burning efficiency.
Preparing the wood
Once you access timber, you need to cut it. Having a properly maintained chainsaw and other safety and support equipment is important. There are accessories that can make the job safer and easier. Please see the Fall 2016 Big Sky Small Acres Article, “Chainsaws – Useful and Dangerous Tools,” for more information.
Splitting firewood can be done with a manual splitting maul or with hydraulic or kinetic splitters. Both take time and money. Splitting firewood in spring gives adequate time for wood to season so it can be enjoyed in the fall. Burning with firewood also requires time for making kindling to efficiently start fires in a woodstove.
Three staging areas can be useful. Consider keeping three to five cords in an area out back, away from primary buildings; about half a cord on the deck or nearby where it is conveniently accessed; and a one to two day supply inside. If firewood is a main heat source, consider building a woodshed sized to season four to eight cords of wood.
Stoves and fireplaces
Once you have firewood, what appliances are best for burning? Modern wood stoves are very efficient and clean burning, but they require a significant financial investment, as well as proper stovepipe and clearances for safety. The internet can be useful for researching options, but professional installation is strongly recommended. Both older stoves and new, as well as the chimney, require regular maintenance for safety and efficiency. While open fireplaces are not efficient, they are enjoyable as a heat source.
Once you have your appliance, where should you put it? Placement is important to providing a more even heat distribution throughout a home. Consider that heat rises. Can the woodstove be placed on the lowest level? The room the woodstove is in can get extremely warm. Are fans or ducting available to help distribute the heat?
Interior impacts of burning
Burning firewood is a dirty event. If you use wood as the primary source of heat, rather than as an occasional special event, you will notice the impact. Your home will need dusting more frequently. No matter how much you bang and scrape the wood before bringing it in, it can be a big challenge to limit the droppings. The area around the inside storage and stove will require regular cleaning.
In addition, ashes need to be removed from the firebox, which is a dirty, but necessary chore. Ashes should be moved outside in a metal bucket or container to a safe storage area before being disposed. If you see a garbage truck traveling down the road on fire, it is probably the result of someone putting ashes into their trash for collection. Don’t make this mistake!
Resources
Burning firewood for the primary heating of a home costs both money and time. While you may think you are saving money, there are a lot of items that should be included in the real cost. Chainsaw and accessories ($800), gas, transportation, and equipment maintenance ($250), log splitter ($1500), stove and installation ($4,000), treatment and medication for back pain – you get the idea.
A time commitment is a requirement of heating with firewood. Harvesting, transporting, splitting, and storing firewood may take several days of family time and effort. There is also a daily time commitment for feeding the fire. Reserve some time for maintaining and inspecting the stove and stovepipe on a regular basis.
To burn firewood as your primary source of heat in a safe and economical way, be prepared for a long-term commitment. It’s not for everyone. If the time and money investment is too much, you’ll find that your woodstove sits idle alongside the elliptical trainer.
My family enjoys the related chores. From learning how different species of wood burn, to locating supplies, to cutting, transporting, splitting, stacking, burning and cleaning, we enjoy the process and find the great warmth it provides our home is worth the commitment. Is it for you?
SIDE BAR
Peter Kolb, Extension Forestry Specialist
Dried western larch, Douglas-fir and deciduous species like maple, elm, ash, and locust will provide about double the heat per volume burned than ponderosa pine, cottonwood, poplar, and willow. Wet wood of any species will only smolder and produce little heat and much smoke and creosote that will plug your chimney and promote dangerous chimney fires. Cut stacked wood takes about an average Montana summer to dry. If your stove is producing a lot of visible smoke out the chimney, your fire needs more air or your wood is too wet.
For more information on heating with firewood, and MSU Extension, visit http://e3a4u.info/
wp-content/uploads/Wood-Heat-Entire-Document.pdf and MSU Extension Forestry at msuextension.org/forestry.