Definitions of Chart Terms
- Density - wood's dry weight per volume. Denser or heavier wood contains more heat per volume.
- Green Weight - the weight in pounds of a cord of freshly cut wood before drying.
- mmBTUs - million British Thermal Units. Wood's actual available heat measured in BTUs.
- Coaling - wood that forms long-lasting coals are good to use in wood stoves because they allow a fire to be carried overnight effectively.
Wood Heating Values
| Common Name | Density-lbs/cu.ft. | Pounds/cd. (green) | Million BTUs/cd. | Coaling |
| Hickory | 50 | 4,327 | 27.7 | good |
| Osage-orange | 50 | 5,120 | 32.9 | excellent |
| Black locust | 44 | 4,616 | 27.9 | excellent |
| White oak | 44 | 5,573 | 29.1 | excellent |
| Red oak | 41 | 4,888 | 24.6 | excellent |
| White ash | 40 | 3,952 | 24.2 | good |
| Sugar maple | 42 | 4,685 | 25.5 | excellent |
| Elm | 35 | 4,456 | 20.0 | excellent |
| Beech | 41 | 27.5 | excellent | |
| Yellow birch | 42 | 4,312 | 20.8 | good |
| Black walnut | 35 | 4,584 | 22.2 | good |
| Sycamore | 34 | 5,096 | 19.5 | good |
| Silver maple | 32 | 3,904 | 19.0 | excellent |
| Hemlock | 27 | 19.3 | poor | |
| Cherry | 33 | 3,696 | 20.4 | excellent |
| Cottonwood | 27 | 4,640 | 15.8 | good |
| Willow | 35 | 4,320 | 17.6 | poor |
| Aspen | 25 | 18.2 | good | |
| Basswood | 25 | 4,404 | 13.8 | poor |
| White pine | 23 | 15.9 | poor | |
| Ponderosa Pine | 3600 | 16.2 | fair | |
| Eastern Red Cedar | 31 | 2,950 | 18.2 | poor |
