Firewood for Winter: How to Plan Your Supply

To plan firewood for winter, work out the amount from your heating needs (1 ster for a fireplace, 2 ster for a wood stove, 5 to 6 ster per 1,000 liters of heating oil), order before the season, store it dry and check quantity and moisture on delivery.

If you plan your firewood in autumn, you heat through winter without stress: the wood arrives in time, is stored dry and is ordered in the right amount. This guide shows you how to work out your winter stock, when to order and what to check on delivery. At the end you will find a checklist in six steps.

How much firewood for winter do you need?

That depends on what you heat with and how often. As guide values per winter:

Sources: guide values for fireplace and wood stove from our wood finder; EnergieSchweiz, wood energy (1,000 liters of heating oil equal 5 to 6 ster of hardwood).

An example: if you have used 2,000 liters of heating oil a year so far, that works out to 10 to 12 ster of hardwood. What a ster is, what it weighs and how to measure it is explained in What is a ster of firewood. Plan for a little more rather than too little: wood that is stored dry stays dry and burns just as well next winter.

When should you order firewood for winter?

Ideally before the heating season starts and before your supply runs low. With us, delivery of firewood with stacking usually takes 6 to 12 working days, and small quantities reach you in 2 to 3 working days. If you only order when the last log is in the stove, you wait up to 12 working days for new wood.

Freshly split wood pays off for next winter, not for this one: it needs one to two years to dry, and Holzenergie Schweiz recommends at least two. For the coming heating season you therefore buy oven-ready wood. We deliver ours at under 18% moisture, and because it is stacked you can measure the amount right at the pile.

Where do you store your supply?

Store firewood raised off the ground, airy and with a roof on top only: on a pallet or beams, in a windy, sunny spot, with the sides open. A porch roof, a carport with open sides or a house wall with a little distance are all good places. The details and the five steps for stacking properly are in How to store and stack firewood.

No space for stacking, or no wish to do it yourself? We stack the wood for you, up to 50 m from the drop-off point. All that matters is that the spot is protected from above and that air can pass along the sides.

What to check on delivery

• Quantity: a ster is 1 m wide, 1 m high and 1 m deep. With a stacked delivery you can measure the pile right away.
• Wood species and log length: we deliver beech and birch in 33 cm and beech also in 25 cm. The length has to fit your firebox, so measure its depth if in doubt.
• Moisture: oven-ready wood has under 20% (Holzenergie Schweiz). A wood moisture meter on a freshly split log shows it most accurately, not on the bark.

Before the first fire: stove, chimney and accessories

• Chimney sweep: have the appliance, including the chimney, cleaned regularly by a chimney sweep. How often that happens is set by the cantons and municipalities, so ask your chimney sweep or your municipality.
• Lighting: Holzenergie Schweiz recommends lighting from the top, with dry kindling and a firelighter such as wax-soaked wood wool instead of paper. You can find ready-made kindling and the Schitli firelighter in our shop.
• Wood in the warm: let your firewood dry a little longer for a few days in the house or the boiler room before you burn it (Holzenergie Schweiz).
• Ash: keep warm ash in a non-combustible, closed container on a non-combustible base. Small quantities of cooled ash may go in the household waste, not into compost or the garden.

Sources: Holzenergie Schweiz, FAQ (cleaning, post-drying, ash); Holzenergie Schweiz, «Richtig Anfeuern» (publication no. 315, in German); Holzenergie Schweiz, «Keine Abfälle in den Ofen» (publication no. 312, in German).

Checklist: your winter stock in six steps

1. Work out the amount1 ster for a fireplace, 2 ster for a wood stove or 5 to 6 ster per 1,000 liters of heating oil.
2. Choose species and lengthBeech or birch, 25 or 33 cm, to fit your firebox.
3. Decide where to store itRaised, airy and covered on top only. Or we stack the wood for you, up to 50 m from the drop-off point.
4. Order in timeDelivery of firewood usually takes 6 to 12 working days.
5. Check the deliveryMeasure the pile (1 m × 1 m × 1 m per ster) and check the moisture: under 20%.
6. Get stove and accessories readyChimney sweep, kindling and firelighter, a container for the ash and a small stock of wood in the warm.

Frequently asked questions about firewood for winter

In short: plan your firewood for winter calmly

You plan firewood for winter best in autumn: work out the amount, order in time, store it dry and check the delivery. With us you can order firewood stacked and delivered, delivery is free and stacking up to 50 m is included. You will find more answers in Firewood in Switzerland: questions and answers, and what wood costs in Firewood prices in Switzerland.