A hundred gallons of home heating oil generates roughly 14 million BTUs of heat. A cord of hardwood firewood generates about 20 or 21 million BTUs of heat.

Using that formula, it’s a simple matter of math to figure out how much consumers can save using wood to heat their home.

If a home uses 1,200 gallons of heating oil over a winter, it would cost $1,800 to heat at $1.50 a gallon, or $2,160 at $1.80 a gallon. The average statewide price of oil last week was $1.91 a gallon, according to the State Planning Office.

A homeowner would require about eight cords of wood to generate the same amount of heat.

If the wood cost $150 to $200 a cord, the cost would be $1,200 to $1,600. Under this scenario, the savings would be between $200 and nearly $1,000.

Peter Lammert of the Maine Forest Service said homeowners can cut their bills even more by buying green wood, which is less expensive than seasoned wood, in the spring and having it dry out in their yards.

They can save even more by buying tree-length pieces of wood and cutting it and splitting it themselves.

“People should buy their wood early,” he said.