Burning the right firewood for maximum heat output and minimum environmental impact

First Rule for Choosing the Hottest Firewood?

Before we get into which wood is best for burning, or which wood burns the hottestas a home heat source in a wood-burning stove or fireplace, remember this:

• First rule for wood burning? Make sure it's dry or seasoned wood, or most of the heat will be lost on evaporating water (like in a swimming-pool) and you make harmful smoke instead of heat!

从燃烧木材中获得最大热量的第二条规则是什么?

Choose a high-efficiency wood-burning stove or fireplace insert for the most eco-friendly way to burn wood为了获得最大的热量输出，请确保您的炉子或壁炉保持最佳燃烧。首先，买一个合适的炉子或壁炉插片可以让我们以最佳的效率运行它们，同时提供给家庭供暖所需的热量——这是一个平衡的行为，太大了，要么过热，要么无法达到正确的温度，燃烧效率低下，太小了，我们把它们塞得太满，试图从它们中获得更多的热量，导致吸烟、污染和低效燃烧。就像选择、调试和维修一辆车一样——外观很重要，但对环境的影响也很重要——所以考虑效率，然后是服务和维护，以确保你的炉子或壁炉继续发挥其设计的功能。一个泄漏的门垫圈永远不应该让多余的空气进入和破坏清洁燃烧过程。

Wood Choices - which firewood is best and hottest and what to look for

无论家庭取暖用的木材选择如何，都应该以可持续的方式采购，从有管理的森林中定期重新种植，preferably with a diversified mix of local species of tree(because these by nature are going to be the ones that grow best and support indigenous plant cover and wildlife.) It stands to reason that we shouldn't be cutting more than we are growing, and with the best hardwoods the problem is that they tend to be amongst the slowest growing trees.

在美国和加拿大，关于燃烧木材的一个常见观点是，使用软木不太理想的家庭取暖，主要是因为它的燃烧速度。木材的密度越小，燃烧的速度就越快，这意味着你需要更快地重新装炉子。

In areas of abundant hardwood there is a taboo against burning softwood, but you should keep that in perspective. In British Columbia or Washington State, most people who heat with wood only use softwood simply because that is all that is available. We happily encourage comments from both softwood and hardwood users below, so we can settle this once and for all.

There are many conflicting opinions on burning softwood, some say it causes more creosote, but there are many that say it doesn't. A commonly held opinion is that the pitch in softwood causes creosote, but there is evidence to suggest that is untrue.

Pitch is the resin excreted from many coniferous trees, and it is often blamed for gumming up stove pipes along with fingers. But in reality the real culprit is moisture. When the pitch dries, it acts as sort of a super charged fuel, which is responsible for the pops and crackles that you don't get when burning hardwood, but isn't really responsible for clogging your chimney.

Regardless of how much more creosote softwood does or does not produce, you should be keeping your chimney clean anyway. So relax, and burn it if you have it. In fact a small softwood fire can be ideal as a quick way to take the edge off of a cold house without overheating your home and leaving a big charcoal bed. It is also the best kindling you will find.

在很多人用柴火取暖的地区，经常会有名声狼藉和声名狼藉的柴火供应商。如果你有机会，问问你所在地区的其他人的经历，而不是把电话号码从卡车上拿下来。你很容易收到太湿、开始腐烂的柴火，或者不是你被告知的那种柴火。我们很容易在一卡车木材上被骗钱，直到你把它们堆起来才意识到，因为我们面对的诱惑是，把木材装上车，这样你就只能在最好的木材到达并被倾倒的时候看到它。

Purchasing firewood early in the season is often helpful for getting a quality product at the right price. By the late fall when people without a secured supply are nervous and scrambling for the best firewood, the price often goes up and the quality goes down.

在你不知道柴火来源的情况下，最好拿个湿度计检查一下柴火的质量，并在把柴火从卡车上卸下来之前检查一下。买一个好的湿度测量仪要花你75到100美元，但即使是避免一个寒冷的冬天，潮湿的木头在壁炉里闷烧，拒绝获得一个合适的热量水平，这也是一个值得的投资。操作简单来说就是把叉子插进木头里，然后读出数字。

Whether you are cutting your own firewood or buying it, trees should ideally be cut in the winter before the sap starts to rise, then split and stacked in early spring - unless of course you're only harvesting the naturally dead wood in a forest before it starts to decay - which is the most eco-friendly option if the most labor intensive.

当你在购买能提供最多热量的最好的柴火时，询问它是什么时候砍伐的，木材的种类是什么，要有选择性，如果供应商不知道或不想说，继续寻找将是我们的建议。在正确的季节，正确地准备和切割，最好的木柴应该足够干燥，可以在秋天燃烧，这意味着理想的最大含水率在15%到20%之间。如果木柴在堆里放得太久，它就会开始受到昆虫和真菌的攻击，这不是一个很好的计划，堆放在附近或带入你的木结构的房子。

Which type or species of Wood burns the hottest? ( and which don't... )

THE BEST FIREWOOD FOR THE HIGHEST HEAT VALUE

(Where one cord = 200 to 250 gallons of fuel oil equivalent heat output)

The following North American species are the best choice for firewood where you can get hold of them as they have the highest density and heat output when properly dried and seasoned and are in alphabetical order:

• American beech
• Apple
• Ironwood
• Red oak
• Shagbark hickory
• 糖枫(加拿大东部的音乐!)
• White ash
• White oak
• Yellow birch

THE BESTTYPES OF WOOD FOR BURNING WITH A MEDIUM HEAT VALUE

(Where one cord = 150 to 200 gallons of fuel oil equivalent heat output)

The following North American wood species are an acceptable choice for firewood as they have medium density and heat output when properly dried and seasoned and are in alphabetical order:

• American elm
• Black cherry
• Douglas fir
• Red maple
• Silver maple
• Tamarack
• White birch

FIREWOOD TO CHOOSE AS A LAST CHOICE WITH LOW HEAT VALUE

(Where one cord = 100 to 150 gallons of fuel oil equivalent heat output)

The following North American woods would be our last choice for firewood as they have low density and heat output even when properly dried and seasoned and are in alphabetical order:

• Aspen
• Cottonwood
• Hemlock
• Lodgepole pine
• Red alder
• Redwood
• Sitka spruce
• Western red cedar
• White pine

So, once the best wood in the right condition has been selected in the local area for heat output and cleanest burning, it's time to turn your attention to stacking and storing your firewood correctly.

Stacking firewood properly:

• Keep your firewood high enough off the ground to avoid absorbing moisture.

• Protect firewood from rain, but keep the sides open so air can flow through and dry it.

• Avoid stacking your wood against the house. It prevents air flow through your firewood and can prevent the wall of your home from shedding moisture as well. It can also introduce mold, fungus and termites, carpenter ants and other insects into the fabric of your home - which is definitely best avoided.

• Build proper corners! Having a woodpile fall apart in the middle of the winter is not fun.

• While you are stacking, be sure to split a variety of sizes so you can more easily maintain the level of fire and heat output needed.

• 如果你把柴火堆在阳光下或风大的地方，这将有助于确保它可以在秋天燃烧。把你的木头覆盖起来，但要确保它能干燥。

Burning firewood for maximum efficiently:

There is something biologically imbedded in us that makes us want to be seen as someone who can produce a good hot fire, especially when our friends are watching. Endless blowing on, and watching a kindling pile smoke away into nothingness is not good for anyone's ego.

冒烟的火不是有效的火，因为烟是燃烧不良的结果。这是由燃烧潮湿的木材，或燃烧干燥的柴火不好造成的。有效的火灾应该导致看不到烟雾离开你的烟囱。吸烟意味着你污染了更多的环境，而且你的金钱和劳动力得不到应有的热量。For a better burn, choose a better wood burning stove or fireplace insert in the first place.

• Your fire needs to have ample air to get started, then close it down to burn efficiently. But if you close it down too much you will starve it of oxygen, causing it to burn poorly and create smoke.

• A quick way to start a fire is to use a criss-crossed stack of dry softwood with some shredded and crumpled newsprint in the centre and mixed in, with a couple of thinly split pieces of hard wood on top. Avoid using glossy paper like magazines.

• Make sure you don't have an overly deep bed of ashes; try to keep it to under 2 inches, and ensure the air intake isn't covered.

• Many small pieces of firewood will light more quickly than a few big ones as it increases the number of surfaces where flames can ignite. So split your kindling thin.

• To re-ignite a coal bed, don't spread the coals thin, they will probably go out or at least delay the lighting time. Pile coals together near the air intake, and put your kindling on top.

• Operating your stove or fireplace insert below 270 degrees Celsius means your firewood isn't burning efficiently or completely. Burning over 500 degrees Celsius regularly can cause metal fatigue in your stove pipe, as well at put you at risk of chimney fires if you have any creosote build up.

How hot do pressed wood fire logs burn?

Manufactured pressed fire logs have become very popular, are easy to find, and can burn well while giving a lot of heat. We aren't talking about the 'light the bag' chemical fire logs that became trendy in the 80's for instant Christmas ambience, but rather the modern day equivalent of responsibly manufactured logs for airtight woodstoves or fireplace inserts.

Different brands of manufactured fire logs will have used different materials and manufacturing techniques, so do some research before making a purchase. The most eco-friendly choice would be local to your region, and won't contain paraffin or resin adhesives to bind the logs.

You can also find fire logs in different sizes, so look into the numbers regarding burning time and BTUs per log. A smaller log will light faster, but a bigger log might serve you better overnight and give off more heat.

由于水分含量在3%到6%之间(比柴火低得多)，制造的原木可以燃烧得非常热，所以要小心不要超载。在活跃的火堆旁边放一根木柴，而不是放在火堆上面，可以延迟点燃时间，让你上床睡觉，延长燃烧时间。这只是保持温度均匀的一个小策略，因为总是需要一些时间和思考来找出最好的方式来运行你的火。

The energy footprint of manufactured logs is greater than that of split firewood, but they save forests and landfills by making use of post-industrial waste, and they burn very efficiently with fewer emissions.

And don't look at the cost on a per log basis; one manufactured log will give you more heat than an equally sized chunk of split firewood. Purchased in quantity, compressed logs can be noticeably more affordable by the BTU than firewood, so consider splitting on a load with a neighbour to help bring the price down.

压缩原木有一件事是不出名的，那就是留下一个好的煤层。所以，如果你发现自己生的火比你想要的多，你可以尝试将它与传统的柴火混合。

At a certain point, fire logs will be burning very hot but they will be very fragile compared to solid wood. Dropping a new log on top can sometimes make them disintegrate into little more than an ash pile, so be careful how and when you load more on top.

Next take a look at theHow to Choose the best Wood Burning Fireplace inserts or Stove Guide here, from the EcoHomeGreen Building Guides- or look at theWood Combustion, what you need to know for burning wood cleanly in an environmentally friendly way Guide here

Build Better, Renovate Better, Live Better -with EcoHome.net, North America's favoriteSustainable & Green Building website...