People in Colorado use various wood types to burn in their fireplaces. Hardwoods that have a considerably higher heating value per cubic meter than conifers are the best option, but in Colorado, they are imported in bulk and their price is higher than the price of locally sourced pine varieties.
The best wood to be burn in a fireplace is beech, hornbeam, oak, ash tree and birch, primarily because they have residual moisture content below 20%. Hardwood also burns much longer than softwood, producing less ash. The emanated heat is very efficient.
The energy or calorific value of dry wood is on average 4 kw/ h/ 1kg of wood.
Beech makes a beautiful flame and has a very high calorific value, often being used as a reference value compared to other types of wood. This is the best wood to be burn in fireplaces but, unfortunately, also one of the most expensive. Birch is also often used for fireplaces due to its high calorific value and the beautiful smell. Oak wood is not used too often on its own, but mostly in combinations with beech, because its flame is not so big.
Although these are the best woods for fireplaces, they are not the most popular in Colorado. Like we said before, they are more expensive, considering that they are not local species, so most people, according to fireplace store Denver retailers, prefer to burn mostly cedar, pine, spruce, pecan or aspen.
