Best Wood to Burn: Firewood Heat Comparison Calculator
Here is the part the log adverts leave out: nearly all properly dried wood holds roughly the same heat per kilogram, about 4.1 kWh once seasoned to 20% moisture. What actually separates the best firewood from the worst is density. A stacked cubic metre of oak or ash is far heavier, and so carries far more heat, than the same volume of pine or poplar. Pick a species below to see how much heat it gives off and how it ranks against the rest.
How much heat does your firewood give off?
Firewood ranked by heat per stacked cubic metre
| Species | Heat per stacked m³ | Relative |
|---|
Estimates assume logs seasoned to about 20% moisture at roughly 4.1 kWh per kg, with a typical stacked cubic metre being around 70% solid wood and 30% air. Figures are a guide for comparison, not a lab measurement, and wet wood delivers far less than any figure here.
The message the table makes plain: the dense hardwoods at the top, hornbeam, beech, oak and ash, give you the most heat for a given stack and the longest, steadiest burn. Softwoods like pine and spruce still burn hot per kilo, but a stacked metre weighs less, so you get through it faster and it can soot the flue. Poplar and willow sit at the bottom for a reason. Whatever you burn, season it hard and check it with a moisture meter first, because damp logs waste most of the heat in this table boiling off their own water.
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