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I I I I I :1 ! II II I II I , I ~ fI ~ I -~ I G ~ ,- ;1 il I '. of the appropriate wood pile size on different lots would be necessary to determine whether or not there is a size violation, The second option is to set a limit on the number of cords of wood that may be stored. A cord at wood is 4 feet wide, 4 feet high, and 8 feet long, The size limit must be carefully determined to ensure that the ability of a hameo~er to effectively use wood for home heating isn't unreasonably impaired, Bo;' much wood is used during the winter to heat an average borne? . The 11innesota Depart71ent of Natural Reso~ces did a survey that indicated that an average Minnesota home that uses wood for 50 percent or more of the heating load uses 6.1 cords per heating ,season~ An average figure of a home which uses wood. to supply less than 50 percent of home beating is 2.4 cords per beating season. . -. Another way to look at this question is to consider bow muc:b energy is used in a typical Minnesota borne for space beatinlJ and bow muc:b wood is required to supply that energy. space beating typically requires 120 million Btus/year. A home built or retrofit to state energy code standards would r~quire about 100 million Btus/year for space beating. If only wood was used for home heating without any other back up fuel and assuming a wood stove with 60 percent efficiency, then 9.8 cords of wood would be required to supply 100 million Btus/year or 11.7 cords of wood to supply 120 million Btus/year. Tbese figures are for an average mixture of different -types of wooi. Less wood would be required if only higb density hardwoods were burned. Clearly, a wood pile size limit based on the average figure of 6.1 cords per heating season would hinder those people who burn only wood for hc>me heating.