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Heating Your Home Efficiently with Wood


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If you are reading this information, odds are that you are concerned about the environment. Are you looking for ways to become more environmentally friendly, while saving money in the process? A wood heating system is a good choice for reliable heat and a clean environment! Unlike a system that relies on fossil fuels, a wood system is a renewable resource. Wood heating systems results in no net carbon dioxide increase because new trees replace the ones used as fuel. Dust to dust, as it's said!

A well made outdoor furnace is the most efficient way to burn wood and produces lower emissions than a camp fire! With the addition of a forced air blower, boilers reach higher temperatures and higher efficiencies, which means your home stays warm with less fuel!
You've put a lot of time and money into  your home. It’s where your family spends their time, it’s where you relax. You may be thinking, “Firewood is dirty and moldy, why would I want that around my home?” When wood is burned indoors it creates smoke, ash and sometimes a not very pleasant smell. However, when burning outdoors, you avoid all those problems because you don’t bring the firewood or the fire inside! This means no fire hazards from your heating system, no worries about carbon monoxide,  and no worries about pilot lights!

How much do you spend heating your home? Would you like to spend less? Often, companies who use pallets will sell (very cheap!) broken pallets and sometimes, they give them away so they don't have to pay for disposal! Wood is easy to come by!

Did you know that all wood, regardless of species, has about the same energy content per pound? The different species vary only in density.

Traditionally, the favored trees in central North America were oak and maple because they are very dense and produce long-lasting coals. But these are valuable trees and in many areas are not plentiful enough to burn. No problem, just use softer woods like birch or poplar or any other tree that is readily available.

 

One cord of wood equals a stack of wood 4 ft. X 4 ft. X 8 ft. The amount of heat equivalent to what is produced by a ton of coal or 200 gallons of fuel oil.

Energy content per air dried full cord, in 000s of BTUs.
The hardest species are at the top of the list.

 
Rock Elm

Shagbark Hickory

White Oak

Bitternut Hickory

Sugar Maple

Beech

Red Oak

Yellow Birch

Red Elm

White Ash

White Elm

Red Maple

Tamarack

Black Cherry

White Birch

 

32,000

30,600

30,600

29,200

29,000

27,800

27,300

26,200

25,400

25,000

24,500

24,000

24,000

23,500

23,400

 

Black Ash

Green Ash

Silver Maple

Manitoba Maple

Large Tooth Aspen

Hemlock

Trembling Aspen

Butternut

Balsam Poplar

White Pine

Basswood

White Cedar

White Spruce

Balsam Fir

22,600

22,100

21,700

19,300

18,200

17,900

17,700

17,400

17,260

17,100

17,000

16,300

16,200

15,500

 

 

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