Issues → November/December 2007 → Interact → 10 Things to Do →
Wood Chart
Heat values of New England fuel woods
Submitted by Mary McGrath
Have you ever wondered if heating with wood would trim your fuel bills? Look over the information in these charts to help find the answer.
- Find the kind of wood you will burn from Chart One.
- Find the kind of wood burner you use from Chart Two or Three. Chart Two is for woodstove users; Chart Three is for fireplace users.
- Read the figures that apply to your present fuel: oil, lpg, natural gas, electric heat.
Example: If you have a high-efficiency stove, and burn a cord of wood from Group B, and use lpg to heat your home, then Chart Two tells you that for each cord of wood you burn, you save 185 gallons of lpg. You can compare the cost of the cord of wood to the cost of 185 gallons of lpg to see what you are saving in dollars.
CHART ONE:
Relative Heat Values for Common Fuelwoods Found in New England
(air-dried eight months or more)
GROUP A
(best fuels)
apple, black birch, dogwood, black locust, hickory, hop hornbeam (ironwood)
GROUP B
American hornbeam (blue beech), ash, beech, oak, sugar maple, yellow birch
GROUP C
juniper, red maple, white (paper) birch
GROUP D
cherry, elm, grey birch, Norway pine, pitch pine, tamarack (larch)
GROUP E
alder, black spruce, black willow, cedar, hemlock, pin cherry, spruce
GROUP F
(worst fuels)
aspen, balsam fir, balsam poplar, basswood, white pine
CHART TWO:
Fuel Equivalences for Listed Woods(Box Stoves / Airtight Stoves / High-Efficiency Stoves)
| A Cord of Wood from: | Equals | Gallons No. 2 Oil | Gallons LP Gas | Cubic Feet Natural Gas (Thousands) | Kilowatt-Hours Electricity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A | = | 76/126/152 | 101/168/202 | 9.2/15.3/18.4 | 2023/3372/4047 |
| Group B | = | 69/115/138 | 92/154/185 | 8.4/14.0/16.8 | 1848/3079/3695 |
| Group C | = | 63/104/125 | 84/139/167 | 7.6/12.7/15.2 | 1672/2786/3343 |
| Group D | = | 56/93/112 | 75/125/149 | 6.8/11.3/13.6 | 1496/2493/2991 |
| Group E | = | 49/82/99 | 66/110/132 | 6.0/10.0/12.0 | 1320/2199/2639 |
| Group F | = | 43/71/86 | 57/95/114 | 5.2/8.7/10.4 | 1144/1906/2287 |
NOTE:
First figure in each trio = box stove or Franklin fireplace (closed)
Second (middle) figure = airtight stoves only
Third (last) figure = high efficiency stoves only
All figures are adjusted to reflect efficiencies of woodstoves, gas and oil furnaces, electric heaters.
CHART THREE:
Fuel Equivalences for Listed Woods
(Standard Fireplaces / High Efficiency Fireplaces)
| A Cord of Wood from: | Equals | Gallons No. 2 Oil | Gallons LP Gas | Cubic Feet Natural Gas (Thousands) | Kilowatt-Hours Electricity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A | = | 25/63 | 34/84 | 3.07/7.67 | 674/1686 |
| Group B | = | 23/58 | 31/77 | 2.84/7.0 | 616/1540 |
| Group C | = | 21/52 | 28/70 | 2.53/6.33 | 557/1393 |
| Group D | = | 19/47 | 25/62 | 2.27/5.67 | 499/1246 |
| Group E | = | 16/41 | 22/55 | 2.0/5.0 | 440/1100 |
| Group F | = | 14/36 | 19/48 | 1.73/4.33 | 381/953 |
NOTE:
First figure in each pair = standard fireplaces only
Second figure = high-efficiency fireplaces or Franklin stoves (open)
All figures are adjusted to reflect efficiencies of fireplaces, gas and oil furnaces, electric heaters.
Efficiencies Used in Charts:
Standard open fireplaces = 10 %
High-efficiency fireplaces = 25 %
Standard box stoves = 30 %
Airtight stoves = 50 %
High-efficiency stoves = 60 %
Standard oil furnaces = 65 %
Standard lpg/natural gas furnaces = 75 %
Electric heat = 3.41 BTUs-hr/watt-hr
Fuel Values Used in Charts:
Group A Woods = 23 million BTUs/cd
Group B Woods = 21 million BTUs/cd
Group C Woods = 19 million BTUs/cd
Group D Woods = 17 million BTUs/cd
Group E Woods = 15 million BTUs/cd
Group F Woods = 13 million BTUs/cd
Gallon no. 2 oil = 140,000 BTUs
Gallon lp gas = 91,000 BTUs
Cubic foot natural gas = 1000 BTUs
Kilowatt-hour electricity = 3410 BTUs-hr
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