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February 13, 2001
It's the middle of another winter, temperatures are down and heating costs are up. "This is the perfect time to consider firewood as a heating option for next winter," says Mike Demchik, an agroforestry management educator with the University of Minnesota Extension Service.
Minnesota is blessed with an abundance of sawmill and logging residue (called sawmill slabs and logging slash) as well as other sources of firewood. Demchik says using these residues can be a very effective way to heat your home.
Firewood is usually measured in firewood cords. A cord is a stack of wood 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet. "Use caution when buying face cords or pickup loads because these measurements vary greatly," Demchik says. Depending on the type, quality and level of processing of the firewood, price for a cord can vary from $30 for unprocessed sawmill slabs up to $200 or more for cut, split and stacked stove length oak.
"Most vigorous, healthy people with basic equipment should be able to cut, split and stack a cord in six to eight hours," Demchik says. "Firewood requires at least a year to dry, so you should be cutting wood now for next year."
How does wood stack up against other heating sources? Heating values are typically measured in MBTUs, Demchik says. Because different types of heating systems have different efficiencies, the numbers below are only an estimate. Further, this winter has seen escalating prices for heating fuels, so these costs may not always represent actual heating costs.
Estimated approximate costs per MBTU are for January 2001:
--Fuel oil (assuming a 65% efficient furnace and oil at $1.34 per gallon), $15.41.
--Gas (assuming a 70% efficient furnace and gas $1.13 per Therm), $16.14.
-- Electric (assuming 100% efficiency and electric at $0.065 per kwatt/hour, but this rate varies depending on the type of customer), $19.05.
So how much is that wood worth? Demchik says hard maple and oak have about 23 MBTUs per cord, woods like aspen and basswood average about 16 MBTU's per cord and conifers like jack or red pine will be 12 MBTUs or lower. "However, furnace, wood stoves and fireplaces vary greatly in their efficiency," he emphasizes.
Assuming 40-50% efficiency for a new, tight wood stove, a cord of oak could generate 9-11 MBTU's, aspen 6-8 and pine 5-6. So, compared to fuel oil, gas and electric, the energy in a cord of oak is worth about $150-190, a cord of aspen/basswood is worth $105-130 and a cord of pine is worth $80-105.
"Heating with wood is much more labor intensive than oil, gas or electric," Demchik says. "But if you have access to sawmill wastes or a woodlot, wood can save you money on your heating bills."
For more information, contact your local office of the University of Minnesota Extension Service and ask for the publication "Heating the Home with Wood." Or, for a small charge you can order one from the University of Minnesota Extension Service Distribution Center, (800) 876-8636, or shopext@umn.edu. Ask for number 00531. Demchik may be reached at (218) 894-5167, or mdemchik@forestry.umn.edu
Web, V4MN,V5 demchik21201RR
Source: Mike Demchik (218) 894-5167, or mdemchik@forestry.umn.edu
Editor: Jack Sperbeck (612) 625-1794, sperb001@umn.edu
NOTE: News releases were current as of the date of issue. If you have a question on older releases, use the news release search (upper left-hand column of the News main page) or the main Extension search (upper right of this page) to locate more recent information.
