It’s not uncommon for home-owners to ask our team for personal recommendations for wood types for burning. In the UK today, people are paying closer attention to the wood they use to heat their homes. Wood is a viable energy source that is carbon neutral and cost effective, used to effectively heat homes throughout the cold winter months. When it comes to choosing wood, most people look at sustainability, heat output, burn time and cost.

What Wood Types are Best for Burning?

When it comes to wood selection, we recommend you choose hardwood, Ready to Burn certified, kiln dried logs. Hardwood tends to be a dense wood, producing more heat and burning for longer than softwoods. Softwoods, on the other hand, tend to be cheaper, but they burn faster, and do not produce the same heat you get with hardwoods.

  • Common hardwoods include ash, birch, and oak
  • Common softwoods include pine and cedar.

Kiln Dried Logs

We always recommend kiln dried logs for indoor fireplaces and wood burners. This is due to their very low moisture content of less than twenty percent. Our kiln dried logs are Ready to Burn certified, which means we guarantee our logs have a low moisture content, making them ideal for indoor burning, producing very little smoke, ash, creosote, while offering excellent heat output and burn efficiency.

Seasoned logs, on the other hand, are cheaper than our kiln dried logs, but there are no guarantees regarding their moisture content. Seasoned logs need to be air dried for at least a year, sometimes up to three years, depending on the climate and if they have been exposed to rain and moisture. You will find if you choose seasoned logs, they are sometimes drier on the outer edges, but the centre is still wet, which increases how much smoke your fire gives off, along with ash, and creosote.

What Wood Types Will Burn the Longest?

There are a number of different options you can choose from, though our oak kiln dried logs tend to be the leading choice across the United Kingdom, due to this slow burn and their excellent heat output.

Hardwoods are more efficient when it comes to a fuel source. They offer excellent heat output with a long burn duration. Being kiln dried, the lack of moisture makes them easier to light, especially when you add some of our natural wood kindling to get the fire going.

  • Ash – considered one of the best firewood’s with a low moisture content with a steady burn
  • Birch – easy to burn, optimum heat output
  • Oak – considered one of the best firewood’s with a lasting heat and slow burn rate

What Does Ready to Burn Certified Mean?

The Ready to Burn scheme was introduced by the Government’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). This scheme helps home owners find the cleanest fuels for their homes. Kiln dried logs that are approved and labelled as Ready to Burn certified means that we comply with Air Quality Regulations.

Are Kiln Dried Logs Suitable for Smokeless Zones?

If you live in a smokeless zone in the UK, you can still enjoy a fire to warm your home, helping you reduce your energy costs. Our kiln dried logs produce very little smoke, enabling you to enjoy the benefits of a fire, wherever you live in the UK.

Kiln dried logs don’t only produce very little smoke, they offer a cleaner burn with less ash and less creosote, helping to reduce the risk of chimney fires.