Btu Lb Hardwood Softwood

Non resinous wood has around 8000 to 8500 btu per pound and resinous wood has around 8600 to 9700 btu per pound.

Btu lb hardwood softwood. To get the most energy out of your firewood the wood should be seasoned. All species of wood generate similar heat btu s on a per pound basis with a slightly higher amount for high resinous species of trees. Less dense softwoods have less btu per cord than more dense hardwood but they also weigh less per cord. Seasoning firewood takes time.

Seasoned firewood is described as having a 20 moisture content. This might seem pretty basic but it can make a huge difference for people who are attempting to heat their home using firewood. 185 will heat up to 5 182 sq feet including all buildings well insulated plus hot water burning a good seasoned hardwood like oak. A cord of the more dense wood will have more energy than a cord of less dense softwood.

Btu or british thermal unit is the amount of energy required to heat one pound of liquid water by one degree fahrenheit. The btu in a cord of firewood is usually close to the same per pound between species. One pound of dense hardwood will have about the same amount of energy as one pound of light softwood. The difference in energy content is in the woods density.

Btu is nothing more than the amount of energy needs to head a single pound of water and increase the temperature by a single degree. Wood species type btu values of a cord burning wood in a wood stove. As you can see from the chart below the famed red oak is not the highest on the list. All firewood has about the same btu per pound.