How much firewood by state / Pacific
NOAA 1991-2020 normals · checked 2026-10-20
How much firewood for a California winter?
A 2,000 sq ft house built in the 1970s and heated only with wood burns about 2.1 cords in a normal California winter (6.3 face cords of 16-inch wood). California averages 2,814 heating degree days a year, the #40 coldest of the 48 states NOAA covers here, 48% below the median state.
- 1Cords per winter 2.1 cords
- 2Face cords (16 in) 6.3
- 3Degree days 2,814
- 4Coldest of 48 #40
Cords per winter in California by house size and age
The table uses a generic cord (20 million Btu, the EIA figure) burned in a 74% efficient stove, with wood as the only heat. House age stands in for insulation and air-tightness: it sets how much heat a home of that era used per square foot per degree day in the federal Residential Energy Consumption Survey.
| Floor area | Built 1990 or later | 1970s | Before 1950 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.3 |
| 1,500 sq ft | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
| 2,000 sq ft | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.7 |
| 2,500 sq ft | 1.8 | 2.6 | 3.4 |
California is one of the ten mildest states here, so wood heat goes a long way: a newer 2,000 sq ft house needs 1.4 cords, and even a pre-1950 house of that size needs 2.7. A small, newer home of 1,200 sq ft gets by on 0.9 cords. If the stove only supplements a furnace and supplies about half the heat, the example house needs 1.1 cords.
A cold winter versus a mild one
Thirty years of NOAA data show how much a single winter can swing. California's coldest year was 1998 with 3,416 degree days and its mildest was 2014 with 2,095, a spread of 47% of the average. For the example house that is the difference between 2.6 and 1.6 cords, so buying 0.5 cords more than the average year covers a winter like 1998. The last decade (2011–2020) averaged 2,605 degree days, 11% fewer than the first (1991–2000, 2,920).
Which wood, and what it costs
Dense hardwood shrinks the pile. For the example house in California:
- Hickory (29.3 million Btu per cord): 1.4 cords
- Red oak (25.9 million Btu per cord): 1.6 cords
- White pine (15 million Btu per cord): 2.8 cords
California has no dated cord price from a state agriculture or energy office, so this page does not quote one. Enter what local sellers charge in the calculator: the cost is simply cords × price. Ask whether a quote is for a full cord (128 cubic feet stacked) or a face cord, and whether the wood is seasoned; the cord guide shows how to compare quotes.
What size stove for California?
From its average-winter use, the example house loses about 30,049 BTU/h on a 0°F night (an estimate, not a room-by-room heat-loss calculation). 6 stoves listed here are rated by their makers for 2,000 sq ft, and all of them publish an output at or above that figure, for example the Pacific Energy Super LE (72,000 BTU/h). Makers rate area for an open, reasonably insulated layout; a chopped-up floor plan or a leaky older house needs more. See stove sizes for 1,200 to 2,000 sq ft or pick your own floor area on the stove size chart. Have the chimney swept and inspected every year (U.S. Fire Administration); the chimney guide explains why.
Nearby states
Washington averages 5,610 degree days (4.2 cords for the example house); Oregon averages 5,269 degree days (3.9 cords for the example house).
Degree days: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, California January-December Heating Degree Days (base 65°F), 1991-2020, checked 2026-10-20. Heat per square foot: EIA RECS 2001, Table CE2-2c; furnace efficiency used to turn that gas into heat: 78% (10 CFR 430.32). Full method on the methodology page. Estimates only; a house's real use depends on its insulation, air leaks, layout and how warm it is kept.