Do you check the quality of your firewood?
The quality of your firewood has a big influence on how much enjoyment you get from your wood burning stove, which is why it is important to check the firewood both before and after you purchase it. Here’s what you need to check when choosing your firewood.
Check the calorific value of your firewood
It matters, which type of wood you choose to fire with. The wood species can determine how much heat you get for you money. As a rule, you should check the calorific value of the firewood before buying it. The heavier a wood species is, the higher calorific value it has. You thus get more heat out of the firewood by choosing a heavy wood species, but the price will most often be higher for the heavier wood types.
Check the moisture level of the wood
Optimally, firewood should have a moisture level under 18 %.
Why? Because when firing with moist wood, you will not make the best use of the wood, and thus get a poorer combustion. In addition, by using moist firewood you will emit more particles which will have a negative impact on the environment.
Therefore, it is always a good idea to check for yourself, if the wood has the right moisture level. Here’s how.
Look for the “Ready-to-burn” certificate
If you buy your firewood from a DIY store you want to look for the “Ready-to-burn” label as shown below. For several years, DIY dealers used this term individually which had the impact, that customers could not depend on the dryness of the wood. This has now been regulated.
As of February 2021, the sale of wet firewood has been banned by DEFRA. To make it easier to buy dry firewood and thus fire environmentally friendly, DEFRA and Woodsure (UK’s woodfuel accreditation scheme) made an official certificate for “ready to burn” firewood, which tells that the firewood has a moisture level below 20 %.
