We've all enjoyed the warm feel of a crackling fire, but have you ever given much thought to the type of wood you're burning? You may be surprised to learn that not all firewood is the same. The following tips can help you choose the best variety for your particular needs.
Hardwood comes from slow-growing deciduous trees, such as oak, ash and birch. It's ideal for indoor burning since it produces less smoke and burns longer, hotter and cleaner than softwood.
Softwood, such as pine, spruce, and cedar burn quickly and cleanly, since they don’t produce a lot of embers which continue to smolder after the fire has died down. At least one study has shown that seasoned softwoods cause less creosote in the chimney than hardwoods. While there isn’t as much heat output with softwoods, it’s actually more desirable in some climates to have less heat intensity.
Wood pellets are suitabls for stoves, grills, furnaces, and pizza ovens that require pellet fuel. Pellets are long-burning and are more eco-friendly than traditional types of firewood. You can also recycle wood pellet ash as a garden fertilizer.
Whatever type of firewood you burn, it’s important to get your chimney inspected annually.Â