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Stored Energy
Wood contains stored energy that comes from the energy it absorbs from the sun, water and the atmosphere. Through the process of photosynthesis this energy is converted into complex starches. This can be converted back to actual energy again by two processes -- burning or digestion. Some animals gain nutrients and energy from the digestion of wood. The most common form of energy gained from wood is through its combustion. The combustion produces heat, which is a form of energy.
Fuel
Wood as a fuel for producing heat energy comes in many forms. In its most natural form it is from standing trees that are cut down and chopped up or from fallen deadwood that is already felled. The deadwood form of fuel is easy to gather as it requires few tools and technological equipment and is relatively accessible. Wood fuel also comes in the form of wood-waste, which is the byproduct of places like timber yards and pulping mills. It can also be pelletized, combined with other materials to make fuel blocks, or it can come in the form of sawdust or coal.
Forms
There are many ways in which wood fuel can be burned to create energy. The most common is in a hearth inside a home or on an indoor or outdoor open fire. These are easy but inefficient ways to produce heating energy as much of the heat is lost, and there is also a risk of the fire spreading. Stoves and ovens were developed as a safer and more efficient way to produce heat energy. Cast iron ovens were developed on a personal and industrial scale for the burning of wood. Today modern wood pellet stoves are widely used as efficient home heating systems
Steam
Usually wood is burned to create radiant and convective heat for cooking and burning, although its heat is also used to create steam, which turns turbines that can be used to generate electricity. This method used to be quite inefficient and produce high levels of harmful emissions, but modern systems are now making this a more viable and acceptable form of converting wood into energy.