Heating · firewood
Firewood BTU Chart: Heat per Cord by Species
Per cord of seasoned wood, the densest species give the most heat: osage orange 32.9, gambel oak 30.7, white oak 29.1 million Btu; the lightest give the least: basswood (linden) 13.8, buckeye (horsechestnut) 13.8, eastern redcedar 13.0 (Utah State University Extension). Red oak has 24.6 million Btu a cord. Against U.S.-average propane this week ($2.82 a gallon before tax, $38.54 per million Btu from an 80% furnace), a cord of red oak in an EPA-certified non-catalytic stove is worth at most $673.
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Heat per cord, 43 species
| Species | Million Btu a cord | Dry lb a cord | Most a cord is worth vs U.S. propane |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osage orange | 32.9 | 4,728 | $900 |
| Gambel oak | 30.7 | — | $840 |
| White oak | 29.1 | 4,200 | $796 |
| Black locust | 27.9 | 4,016 | $764 |
| Beech | 27.5 | 3,760 | $753 |
| Apple | 27.0 | 3,888 | $739 |
| Honeylocust | 26.7 | 3,832 | $731 |
| Bur oak | 26.2 | 3,768 | $717 |
| Mulberry | 25.8 | 3,712 | $706 |
| Sugar (hard) maple | 25.5 | 3,680 | $698 |
| Red oak | 24.6 | 3,528 | $673 |
| White ash | 24.2 | 3,472 | $662 |
| Black walnut | 22.2 | 3,192 | $608 |
| Rocky Mountain juniper | 21.8 | 3,150 | $597 |
| Larch (tamarack) | 21.8 | 3,330 | $597 |
| Kentucky coffeetree | 21.6 | 3,112 | $591 |
| Hackberry | 21.2 | 3,048 | $580 |
| Lodgepole pine | 21.1 | 2,610 | $577 |
| Siberian elm | 20.9 | 3,020 | $572 |
| Birch | 20.8 | 2,992 | $569 |
| Douglas-fir | 20.7 | 2,970 | $566 |
| Cherry | 20.4 | 2,928 | $558 |
| Green ash | 20.0 | 2,880 | $547 |
| American elm | 20.0 | 2,872 | $547 |
| Sycamore | 19.5 | 2,808 | $534 |
| Hemlock | 19.3 | 2,700 | $528 |
| Silver (soft) maple | 19.0 | 2,752 | $520 |
| Boxelder | 18.3 | 2,632 | $501 |
| Quaking aspen | 18.2 | 2,160 | $498 |
| Western redcedar | 18.2 | 2,632 | $498 |
| Chestnut | 18.0 | — | $493 |
| Willow | 17.6 | 2,540 | $482 |
| Alder | 17.5 | 2,540 | $479 |
| Catalpa | 16.4 | 2,360 | $449 |
| Ponderosa pine | 16.2 | 2,336 | $443 |
| White pine | 15.9 | 2,250 | $435 |
| Cottonwood | 15.8 | 2,272 | $432 |
| Spruce | 15.5 | 2,240 | $424 |
| Engelmann spruce | 15.0 | 2,070 | $411 |
| White fir | 14.6 | 2,104 | $400 |
| Basswood (linden) | 13.8 | 1,984 | $378 |
| Buckeye (horsechestnut) | 13.8 | 1,984 | $378 |
| Eastern redcedar | 13.0 | 2,060 | $356 |
FAQ
Which firewood gives the most heat?
Of the species in Utah State’s table, osage orange (32.9 million Btu a cord), gambel oak (30.7) and white oak (29.1). Dense hardwoods hold more heat per cord than light softwoods.
How many BTUs in a cord of wood?
Utah State’s table runs from 13.0 to 32.9 million Btu per cord of air-dried wood. EIA’s general figure is 20 million Btu a cord (“Wood 1 cord=20,000,000 Btu”).
Does wet wood give less heat?
Yes. Utah State: “Green wood produces less heat because heat must be used to boil off water before combustion can occur.” The figures here are for seasoned wood.
Sources and assumptions
- Heat content: EIA: “Electricity 1 kilowatthour=3,412 Btu Natural gas 1 cubic foot=1,036 Btu 1 therm=100,000 Btu Motor gasoline 1 gallon=120,214 Btu Diesel fuel 1 gallon=137,381 Btu Heating oil 1 gallon=138,500 Btu Propane 1 gallon=91,452 Btu Wood 1 cord=20,000,000 Btu” Cost per million Btu follows EIA FAQ 987: “[ (Fuel price per unit) divided by (fuel heat content per unit) ] multiplied by 1,000,000”, divided by the system’s efficiency.
- Efficiency: older systems at the federal minimum (10 CFR 430.32: gas and propane furnaces 80.0% AFUE, oil furnaces 83.0%, split heat pumps HSPF2 7.5); new systems at the ENERGY STAR median (certified furnaces: gas/propane 96%, oil 87%; certified heat pumps: HSPF2 8.5, cold-climate 9.0). Heat pumps are shown as a range down to the median COP at 5 °F (2.03, 283,737 certified systems). Wood stoves: EPA certified wood heater database (2020 rule, 417 models, lab-tested HHV efficiency medians: non-catalytic 71%, catalytic 78%, hybrid 78%).
- Firewood: Utah State University Extension, Wood Heating, Table 1 (million Btu per cord of air-dried wood); ranking cross-checked against Indiana DNR, Heating With Firewood. Cord sizes from Indiana DNR: “A standard cord is a stack of wood 4 x 4 x 8 feet.” “A face cord of 16" pieces is actually one third of a standard cord.”
- Typical winter: EIA RECS 2020 microdata (space-heating use of homes heated mainly by each fuel, by EIA climate region), and EIA’s Winter Fuels Outlook heating degree days for the month-by-month split.