How to Build the Most Efficient Wood Fire

Open the damper if you're building the fire in a fireplace. Allow the inside of the fireplace to reach room temperature. This helps start the draft moving upwards.

Confirm air is drafting up through the chimney by lighting a match near the damper. You'll be able to tell if the damper is open by watching the smoke from the match travel up the chimney. Don't light a fire until you have a draft, otherwise you'll fill your house with smoke. If you're having problems creating a draft, try opening windows near the fireplace. Modern homes can be so airtight that it makes it difficult to create a draft in a fireplace. Wait a few minutes and test the draft with a match again.

Create a base for your fire with tinder, which can be any dry, light material. Dry moss or grass, twigs, dry straw, dryer lint and newspaper are all examples of tinder. Newspaper works well because it is often the most accessible at home. Simply crumple several sheets into loose balls and place them on the bottom of the firebox or firepit.

Stack your kindling in a loose pyramid on top of your tinder. You can also stack the kindling flat in a crisscross pattern. with either method, leave gaps for air to flow through. Air is fuel for the fire. Kindling can be larger dry twigs or small dry branches. If you're using firewood, kindling would be small, thin pieces of firewood, similar in size to a large twig or small branch.

Place small logs on top of the kindling on each side, positioned so that the end of the logs directly face you. Place another small log perpendicular across those two logs, as far back from the front as possible. The third log will span across the tinder. Depending on the amount of tinder and size of fire, you may want to place a fourth log in front of the third log -- perpendicular across the first two logs and spanning the tinder. This method essentially creates a small firebox, which allows the heat of the fire to reach you more efficiently. An alternative way to stack logs is in a pyramid or teepee shape above and around the tinder and kindling. The important thing is to allow consistent airflow to the fire.

Light the tinder. Watch the smoke to ensure it's drafting upwards through the chimney, if using a fireplace. Black smoke means the fire needs more air. Use a metal poker to gently rearrange the kindling.

Allow your fire to burn. Add larger pieces of kindling to create an established fire. As the fire grows, add larger logs. The firewood that burns most efficiently consists of dry, split hardwoods that have been seasoned for at least six months. Dense hardwoods such as maple and oak have a higher energy output so they release more heat. They also burn longer. Birch, pine, spruce and other less dense woods burn faster. Determining which is the most efficient depends on how long you want your fire to burn. The size of the firewood depends on the size of your fireplace or fire pit. To burn efficiently, firewood should be about 3 inches in diameter and about 16 inches long.