Extension News: August 2008 Archives

If you're intending to burn wood to heat your home this winter, you'd better make your first priority finding the wood to feed it.

Firewood supplies are already scarce. Many firewood dealers are delivering seasoned wood to long-term customers only. Some, but not all, will deliver green wood, but many dealers have a backlog until fall.

The truth about green wood
The moisture content of green wood averages 60 percent to more than 80 percent by weight, depending on when it was cut.

It takes about six months to air-dry a cord of cut-and-split wood to 30 percent moisture content, and a year or more to reach the 20 percent moisture desirable for the safest, most efficient burn.

If you try to burn green wood, evaporating all that water from your fuel will use as much as 15 percent of its potential heat. Allowing green wood to smolder also promotes a buildup of creosote in the chimney, increasing the risk of a dangerous chimney fire.

Let nature dry your wood
In almost every case, it's more inexpensive to let nature air-dry your wood before you burn it. That means the green wood you buy or cut this fall might not be ready to burn until the 2009-2010 heating season.

How much wood do you need?
The amount of wood required to heat a house depends on a number of factors: the size and interior layout of the house, how weather-tight the house is and the type and efficiency of the wood stove. A 1500-square-foot, fairly weather-tight New Hampshire house will burn between four and five cords of seasoned wood during an average New Hampshire heating season.

High prices
A quick perusal of your local weekly newspaper will show advertised prices exceeding $200 for a cord of green wood and more than $300 for a cord of seasoned wood. Don't delay too long shopping around for better deals on firewood, because prices are bound to increase as winter gets closer and supplies disappear.

Don't commit roadside thievery
By the way, if you've been watching the tree crews trimming the branches off trees close to utility lines and thinking about stopping by later with a pickup truck to collect that wood, think again. Those trees and branches belong to the folks who own the road frontage, and you need permission from them to scavenge the wood.

Where to look for firewood
If you're in the market for firewood, check your local paper, or ask your neighbors and friends about dealers they might know. On-line classifieds, such as Craigslist, are good resources for locating wood as well.

Ask the dealer how long the wood you plan to buy has been drying since it was cut and split. Learn the species mix of the dealer's wood, too. The denser the wood, the longer it will take to dry. Oak, for example, may take more than a year to dry to the desirable 20 percent moisture content.

Know what you're getting
Be sure to clarify what measure of wood you are buying. By state law, a cord of wood is 128 cubic feet of air, bark, and wood. That's a pile of wood 8 feet long by 4 feet high by 4 feet wide.

A vendor may legally sell a fraction of a cord, but must represent it accurately as such (e.g., a half-cord). Remember that stacking a cord is an imperfect skill, so the cord will vary slightly in size every time it is stacked.

Buyer beware
Meet the delivery truck before the load is dumped to make sure you are satisfied by the mixture of species and cleanliness, and tell the driver where you want the wood dumped. Most firewood dealers don't want to return to your house to reload their truck. Ask in advance about any delivery surcharges.

Don't pay for wood in advance of delivery. Ask for a sales invoice that includes the name and address of the firewood selller, the amount and species mix of wood delivered, and the price charged.

Stacking and storing your wood
Unless you've arranged otherwise, it's up to you to restack the pile. Stack it outside in a well-ventilated area off the ground—used pallets make a good platform if you don't have a woodshed. Don't cover your stacked wood until about a month or so before you begin to use it. This will encourage natural air circulation to drive the moisture from the wood.

Even if you're buying your firewood cut, split and delivered, the work of stacking it, loading your stove all winter, and removing the ashes will enable you to understand the old adage "wood warms you twice." At least.

For more information
From cutting your own firewood to managing the ashes from your stove, our new Heating with Wood Web pages offer information on all aspects of heating your home with wood.

By Tim Fleury, UNH Cooperative Extension Forest Resources Educator

Thinking of installing a woodstove to beat the high cost of other fuels? Wondering if you can crank up a once-in-a-while woodstove to serve as your home's primary heating source?

If so, you'll want to check out our new Heating With Wood Web pages.

If you're just starting to investigate wood heat, you'll find there's a lot to learn. Even if you've burned wood for years, you'll want to keep up with changes in wood heating technology and firewood markets.

Heating with Wood offers information on these and other topics:

• Assessing your home for wood heat.
• Cutting your own firewood.
• Buying and storing firewood.
• Sizing, locating, installing and maintaining your wood stove.
• Burning wood safely and efficiently.
• The health effects of woodsmoke.
• Outdoor wood boilers.
• Managing the ashes.

ESRI award recognizes innovation and leadership in geospatial technology outreach

Environmental Systems Research Institute, of Redlands, California, has honored UNH Cooperative Extension's Geospatial Technologies Training Center with its 2008 Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award.

The Center "has demonstrated vision and leadership using ESRI's geographic information system (GIS) technology to better serve the world," said ESRI in announcing the award.

"We're very excited to be recognized by ESRI for our geospatial outreach and training efforts," said Extension's Geospatial Technologies Specialist Shane Bradt, who directs the Center.

"We were one of only four university-based programs to receive the Special Achievement in GIS award in 2008, highlighting the importance of our programs on a national, even international, level.

"We very much appreciate the acknowledgement of our work in such a public forum and look forward to expanding and enhance our training center in the future. Our program is especially strong because of our extensive collaborative efforts with other agencies and departments," Bradt said.

Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) combines computer hardware, software, and data to capture, manage, analyze, and display all forms of geographic information. Almost any information can be linked to a geographic location, allowing users to see that information as part of a complete picture to be analyzed and applied to a problem or issue.

Extension's Geospatial Training Center offers a wide variety of instructional workshops, which range from two-hour introductory sessions to 10-day intensive courses. The goal of the Center is to provide educational outreach programs that help community organizations, government agencies, and ordinary citizens make more informed decisions.

"As two of many examples, the technology is used to identify areas of natural resource importance in coastal communities, and to track and analyze the forestry management plans of privately owned forestland, which accounts for 80 percent of New Hampshire's forestland," Bradt said.

"At ESRI, we are always deeply impressed by the innovation of our users," said Jack Dangermond, ESRI president in announcing the awards. "We want to recognize the efforts of these individuals with our Special Achievement in GIS Award. This recognition is well deserved for how they've applied geospatial technology to address the needs of their industries and communities. They are defining GIS best practices."

The award recognizes the contributions of former and current UNH Cooperative Extension and UNH staff who have served as workshop creators and instructors at the Center since the late 1990s (parentheses indicate their current affiliations):

• Nancy Lambert (Strafford Rivers Conservancy)
• Shane Bradt (UNH Cooperative Extension)
• Sharon Hughes (UNH Cooperative Extension)
• Fay Rubin (NH GRANIT)
• Jennifer Lingeman (NH GRANIT)
• Anne Deely (Neatline Associates)
• Brad Anderson (independent)
• Byard Mosher (CA EPA, Air Resource Board)
• Jeff Schloss (UNH Cooperative Extension)

Photo credits: Shane Bradt

Top photo: GIS allows you to bring to together photos, maps and GPS data to create custom views of any place in the world.

Lower photo: With GPS, you can find your way in the world and collect information about your community.