How Much Firewood Do I Need for the Winter?
Reading time: 3 minutes
Order too little and you're paying winter prices for an emergency top-up. Order too much and you're storing wood you won't burn before it loses BTU value. The honest answer depends on three things: how you're using the fire, the climate zone, and the size of the home.
Quick reference table
| Use case | Mild climate | Cold climate |
|---|---|---|
| Occasional ambiance fires (weekends) | ¼ cord | ½ cord |
| Supplemental heat (a few nights/wk) | 1 cord | 2 cords |
| Primary heat — small home (<1500 sqft) | 2-3 cords | 3-4 cords |
| Primary heat — large home (3000+ sqft) | 4-5 cords | 5-7 cords |
| Outdoor wood boiler | 6-8 cords | 8-12 cords |
"Cold climate" assumes heating-degree-day values above ~6,000 (northern Midwest, Northeast, Mountain West). "Mild" is roughly <3,500 HDD (most of the South).
Adjust for wood species
The table assumes a mix of mid-density hardwoods (red oak, maple, ash). If you're burning all softwood (pine, fir), increase by about 40-50% — softwoods have materially lower BTU per cord. If you're burning premium dense hardwood (white oak, hickory, locust), you can shave 10-15% off.
Buy early
Suppliers raise prices and run thin in October and November. Buy in late spring or early summer for the best per-cord pricing and the freshest stock — and so you can store it for the rest of the season to drop the moisture content even further.
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