I heat my house all winter with wood. We use mostly all white poplar. Usually cut our own from friends that need some more pasture cleared.
Also use spruce at times. Burns cleaner and is a good wood to throw in during the day. Birch is a very hard wood. Ask my chainsaw.
Burns hot and last long. I dont like it for a night load though. Nothing beats poplar for that.
Also birch is very expensive. A cord of poplar is between $80 & $100 to buy. A half ton box load of birch is around $200. The rich tourist type cabin owners out here, just love it though and spare no expense, much to my friends delight.