How Much Firewood Do I Need for Winter?
- Justine Greenfield
- Oct 17
- 3 min read
When the nights draw in and the temperature drops, few things beat the comfort of a glowing log fire. But before winter properly sets in, one common question arises: how much firewood do I actually need?
The answer depends on several factors - your stove size, how often you use it, and how much of your home you rely on it to heat. Here’s a simple guide from Meon Valley Logs to help you plan ahead and avoid running short during the colder months.
🔥 1. Understand What You’re Heating
Every household is different. A small log burner in a cosy living room will use far less wood than a large open fireplace heating a whole cottage.
Consider:
Stove output: measured in kilowatts (kW). A 5 kW stove typically heats an average-sized living room.
Insulation: older houses or draughty cottages need more fuel than newer, well-insulated homes.
Usage pattern: do you light your fire every evening or just at weekends?
As a rough guide:
Occasional user (1-2 fires per week): around 1 m³ of kiln-dried logs for the season.
Regular user (3-4 evenings per week): roughly 2 m³ to 3 m³.
Daily user (main heat source): expect 4 m³ +, depending on stove efficiency and room size.
At Meon Valley Logs, our kiln-dried hardwood logs are measured by loose cubic metre loads, making it easy to track your usage through the winter.
🌳 2. Stove Size and Efficiency
The efficiency of your stove can make a big difference. Modern DEFRA-approved stoves burn more efficiently and extract more heat from each log, so you’ll need less fuel overall.
Approximate annual usage by stove output:
Remember, these figures are for kiln-dried logs - unseasoned or damp wood burns less efficiently, so you’ll need much more to produce the same heat.
🕯️ 3. Frequency of Use
How often you light the fire has the biggest impact of all.
Weekend fires: 1 m³ will usually see you through the season.
Evenings and weekends: plan for 2–3 m³.
Full-time heating or multi-room use: order at least 4 m³ and store part of it under cover for later in the season.
Ordering early - before winter demand peaks - means better availability and drier storage conditions.
🪵 4. Wood Type and Burn Time
Not all logs burn the same. Dense hardwoods like oak, beech, and ash burn longer and hotter than softwoods such as pine or spruce.
Hardwood: ideal for steady, long burns - fewer refills.
Softwood: lights quickly - great for kindling or short evening fires.
At Meon Valley Logs, we supply mixed hardwood loads for balanced burning - easy to light, long-lasting, and efficient.
🏡 5. Storage and Rotation
Good storage helps make the most of your wood supply.
Keep logs stacked off the ground, under a cover, with air circulation. Use from one side first so older logs are burned before newer deliveries.
If you have limited space, consider ordering 1 m³ now and topping up mid-winter - our local delivery makes that easy.
🌟 Final Thoughts
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but most households find 2–3 m³ of kiln-dried hardwood logs comfortably sees them through the colder months when used regularly.
With Meon Valley Logs, you get clean-burning, locally sourced wood delivered free across the Meon Valley - ensuring your fire keeps burning bright all winter long.
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