Every type of consumable fuel, whether it’s natural gas, heating oil or wood, has a heat value — the measure of heat the substance gives off when it’s burned. The measurements are in Btus (British thermal units).
The basic rule for home heating: The higher the heat value of the wood, the more efficiently it will warm your home. Maple, ash, oak, beech, birch, hickory, apple, Cherry are among the hardwoods with the highest heat values.
Apple Firewood
This fruitwood has a high heat value, produces little smoke and gives off a sweet smell with little sparking or spitting when burned.
The wood from ash trees is among the most desirable for heating. It gives off a good heat output,good flame , low smoke and sparks and and burns slowly with a mild aroma.
A unique hardwood with a white flakey bark. Birch is highly favoured for its pleasant crackle and smell in the fireplace, its nice appearance, and its excellent burning qualities. Birch is a good choice when you want a fire to light quickly and heat up fast. Birch burns easily and can be burnt unseasoned. It also burns very quickly so is often best mixed with a slower burning wood such as Oak. Birch bark can make an excellent fire-lighter. A downside? Because it burns quickly, you’ll consume more of it.
One of the most popular woods for fireplaces, fire pits, wood-burning stoves and barbecues, dense hickory is quick to light and long to burn, with a high heat value. It also has the classic “smoke” smell associated with outdoor grilling.
Also known as hard maple or rock maple, those same trees that ooze maple syrup also make great wood for heating. They offer a high heat value, pleasant aroma and long burn.
Oak wood, in all its varieties, including white and red, is one of the best woods for heating. It can burn for an extremely long time so it’s ideal for rekindling in the morning. Because it’s slow-burning, it’s best combined with other faster-burning woods.