Incomparable, and irreplaceable, the warmth of a log fire is one of winter’s great joys. Powering a stove, a fireplace or even a boiler, this heating solution today combines several advantages to seduce. It is very popular even in this time of energy crisis. The demand for firewood will therefore increase given the stratospheric prices for electricity and gas. Although also increasing, its price remains attractive. Count on around 500 euros to heat a whole winter when the price of pellets or heating oil can triple it.
What are the advantages of wood for heating? Preferred type of wood? Which route does firewood take? Where to buy and at what price? Answer all your questions with our decryption.
What are the advantages of wood for heating?
It is the oldest available heating solution. But if a man has been heating with a wood fire since the beginning of time, fortunately, the method has changed a lot. No more chimneys opening to the four winds, or old stoves that pollute more than the heat. The stoves of today have nothing to do with the models of yesteryear. They are much more efficient and know how to best utilize the burning of logs to produce maximum heat without compromising the home’s insulation. And if the wood is better utilized by these devices, it is far from his only asset.
But the icing on the cake is the unbeatable cost of firewood. In application, it is quite simply the cheapest energy on the market. A feat that has become possible again thanks to the advances in wood heating, which now provide much more heat than before.
What species of firewood should you choose?
Not all firewood behaves the same when it is burned. Depending on the type of wood and the moisture content, wood does not give off the same amount of heat or pollutants. Therefore, it should first be specified that waste wood should be avoided. Carpentry wood contains varnish, glue or paint, which can give off harmful vapours when burned.
So it’s about always using natural essences, but not just any. Resinous woods such as spruce or fir should be avoided as they emit little heat, but above all are full of resin, the burning of which clogs the fireplace and greatly increases the risk of fire.
Soft hardwoods – like poplar, basswood or birch – burn quickly, and even too quickly. They cannot create permanent embers and are only used to start a fire.
The types of firewood to be preferred are therefore hardwoods. They are denser, give off more heat and are also longer. If they take longer to dry than soft hardwoods, they are also harder to split and ignite but have the greatest heating potential while very dry. Beech is therefore considered to be the ideal firewood. With beautiful flames, an incomparable smell and a beautiful glow with almost no sparks, it also has an excellent calorific value. But oak, ash or hornbeam are also among the reference firewoods.
It should be noted, however, that chestnuts are still the only hardwood that cannot be used as firewood, as they burst when burned.
