BTU Ratings

Firewood BTU Ratings Charts for Common Tree Species

The firewood BTU rating charts below give a comparison between different firewood types. This can help you decide what the best firewood type is for your needs. You can click on the different types of firewood in the chart to learn more about them. Please leave your comments or questions on those pages if you have experience or questions about those types of firewood.

A cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood. Because of the air space between the pieces of wood, the amount of solid wood in a cord may be only 70-90 cubic feet, even though the volume of the stack is 128 cubic feet.

Western Hardwoods Figures from California Energy Commission BTU Rating Based on 90 cubic feet of solid wood per 128 cubic foot cord
Contains some non native species that can be found in the West.
 
Species HeatContentMillion BTU’s per Cord WeightPounds Per CordGreen WeightPounds Per CordDry
Live Oak 36.6 7870 4840
Eucalyptus 34.5 7320 4560
Manzanita      
Almond 32.9 6980 4350
Pacific Madrone  30.9 6520 4086
Dogwood 30.4 6520 4025
Oregon White Oak  28.0 6290 3710
Tanoak 27.5 6070 3650
California Black Oak  27.4 5725 3625
Pepperwood(Myrtle) 26.1 5730 3450
Chinquapin 24.7 4720 3450
Bigleaf Maple  22.7 4940 3000
Avocado 20.8 4520 2750
Quaking Aspen  18.0 3880 2400
Red Alder  19.5 4100 2600
Cottonwood 16.8 3475 2225
Western Softwoods Figures from California Energy Commission But Rating Based on 90 cubic feet of solid wood per 128 cubic foot cord
Species Heat ContentMillion BTU’s per Cord WeightPounds Per CordGreen WeightPounds Per CordDry
Western Larch (Tamarack) 28.7  5454  3321
PinionPine (Pinyon,pinon) 27.1?    
DouglasFir  26.5 5050 3075
Western Juniper 26.4 5410 3050
Western Hemlock 24.4 5730 2830
Port Orford Cedar 23.4 4370 2700
Lodgepole Pine  22.3 4270 2580
Ponderosa Pine  21.7 4270 2520
Jeffery Pine 21.7 4270 2520
Sitka Spruce 21.7 4100 2520
Red Fir 20.6 4040 2400
Incense Cedar  20.1 3880 2350
Coast Redwood 20.1 4040 2330
White Fir  21.1 3190 2400
Grand Fir  20.1 3880 2330
Sugar Pine  19.6 3820 2270
Western White Pine       
Sequoia Redwood      
Eastern Hardwoods Compiled from various sources Consistency between charts will vary due to different variables between different data sources.
Species Heat ContentMillion BTU’s per Cord WeightPounds Per Cord Dry
Osage Orange 32.9 4728
Shagbark Hickory 27.7 4327
Eastern Hornbeam 27.1 4016
Black Birch 26.8 3890
Black Locust 26.8 3890
Blue Beech 26.8 3890
Ironwood 26.8 3890
Bitternut Hickory 26.5 3832
Honey Locust 26.5 4100
Apple 25.8 3712
Mulberry 25.7 4012
Beech 24.0 3757
Northern Red Oak 24.0 3757
Sugar Maple (Hard Maple) 24.0 3757
White Oak 24.0 3757
White Ash 23.6 3689
Yellow Birch 21.8 3150
Red Elm 21.6 3112
Hackberry 20.8 3247
Kentucky Coffeetree 20.8 3247
Gray Birch 20.3 3179
Paper Birch 20.3 3179
White Birch 20.2 3192
Black Walnut 20.0 3120
Cherry 20.0 3120
Green Ash 19.9 2880
Black Cherry 19.5 2880
American Elm 19.5 3052
White Elm 19.5 3052
Sycamore 19.1 2992
Black Ash 18.7 2924
Red Maple (Soft Maple) 18.1 2900
Box Elder 17.9 2797
Catalpa 15.9 2482
Aspen 14.7 2295
Butternut 14.5 2100
Willow 14.3 2236
Cottonwood 13.5 2108
American Basswood 13.5 2108
Eastern Softwoods
Compiled from various sources. Consistency between charts will vary due to different variables between different data sources
Species Heat ContentMillion BTU’s per Cord WeightPounds Per Cord Dry
Rocky Mountain Juniper 21.6 3112
Eastern Larch (Tamarack) 20.8 3247
Jack Pine 17.1 2669
Norway Pine 17.1 2669
Pitch Pine 17.1 2669
Hemlock 15.9 2482
Black Spruce 15.9 2482
Eastern White Pine 14.3 2236
Balsam Fir 14.3 2236
Eastern White Cedar 12.2 1913
Eastern Red Cedar    

These charts will give you the amount of energy per cord of wood for some of the most common firewood species. The data for these charts was compiled from various sources with different firewood types. There is some conflicting data between different sources due to different calculating variables. As with most BTU charts I have seen available, some of the numbers may be a little off, but are in the general ballpark. I have put together the best data I could find, but consider the figures to be approximate.

Much of the inconsistencies are from different variables such as how much actual solid wood is assumed to be in a cord. A cord is 128 cubic feet but in any stack of wood there will be air space between the pieces. As a result, a cord of wood may only have 70-90 cubic feet of actual solid wood. This varies with the size and shape of the wood, and how tightly it is stacked.

BTU’s or British Thermal Units are a measure of the amount of heat energy available in any given substance.

All firewood has about the same BTU per pound. Non resinous wood has around 8000 to 8500 BTU per pound, resinous wood has around 8600 to 9700 BTU per pound. Less dense softwoods have less BTU per cord than more dense hardwood but they also weigh less per cord. Resinous wood has more BTU per pound because the resins have more BTU per pound than wood fiber has

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