Heating with a Fireplace

There is nothing quite like sitting next to a warm crackling fire in the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate and reading a book or watching a relaxing television show while the cold wind outside beats against the side of the house. But, is a wood-burning fireplace a feasible and cost effective way to heat your home during those long winter months? The short answer is no! To find out why, keep reading.

As mentioned before, sitting beside a wood-burning fireplace can be one of the most enjoyable experiences in the winter. And if this is all it is too be used for then you can expect that your power bill will not suffer much because of it. If you light a fire a couple of times a week or only on the weekend to enjoy the smells and the sounds of the wood-burning fire you will not have to worry about your power bill very much.

If you are planning on heating an entire home with one centrally located fireplace, or one that is in only one room such as the living room, then I hope you are prepared to turn off you electric or gas furnace completely and prepare to sleep in the cold. Think about your typical wood-burning fireplace for a moment. There is the fireplace itself which also includes this huge hole to the outside called the chimney. What is the purpose of the chimney? The purpose of the chimney is to evacuate all of the smoke from the fire so that your house does not fill up with the smoke. Another purpose of the chimney is airflow. Let’s remember from elementary school that a fire needs three things to burn and continue burning. A fire needs, fuel, in this case wood, heat, started usually with matches or a lighter and sustained by the burning wood, and oxygen or air.

We know where the wood comes from, we put it in the fireplace to burn. We know where the heat comes from, we used matches or a lighter initially for the heat source and once it caught we used the wood to sustain it. But, where does the air come from? The air comes from all of the air in your home and when there is not enough, it is pulled in through all of the cracks around the windows and doors. We are talking about the cold blistering air that is outside your house being pulled into your house. But no worries right? We are heating that air with our fireplace and it puts off enough heat to counter-act that cold air. Wrong! It is a good train of thought but the problem is that most of the heat that is generated by the wood-burning fireplace is expelled up the chimney. Remember that heat rises. As the heat rises in the chimney and cold air is pulled in through the cracks, all of the other rooms in the house are not as warm as the room where the fireplace is.

Let me rephrase that last statement. The room where the wood-burning fireplace is will be warm and all of the other rooms in the house will be cooler because cold air is being pulled into them. Now, earlier I said that if you are planning on trying to heat your house with just a wood-burning fireplace I hope that you turn off your electric or gas furnace. That is because it does not matter where the thermostat is the house will not be heated evenly. If the thermostat is near the fireplace it will think it is warmer than it is and it will cause the heat not to run. This will make the other rooms in the house cooler. If the thermostat is not near the fireplace and is in a cool place it will cause the heat to come on and run longer because of all the cold air that is being pulled into the house.

Another thing to consider when heating with a wood-burning fireplace is your wood supply. Do you or will you have access to free or cheap firewood? If so, it may be worth your while but it is a lot of work and you will most likely get cold at night and want an extra blanket or two.

If you decide that you just like your wood-burning fireplace and the cost and the comfort do not matter there are a few things that you can do to help keep some of that heat in. One being that you should try to seal as many air gaps as possible. Also, in the room where the fireplace is you can crack a window just barely that way the air is drawn from there and not other parts of the house. You should also see if it is possible to use glass doors with your fireplace. You will want to consult a professional when dealing with these glass doors because they use a special glass that is made to withstand the high temperatures of a wood-burning fireplace. Insulation is also key in keeping in the heat that is generated by the fireplace. Make sure that your attic is well insulated so you can keep that heat in the house.

Heating a house with a wood-burning fireplace is not the best way to heat your home. It may end up cheaper if you have access to free or very cheap wood but you will sacrifice some of your comfort and need extra blankets at night. Seal those air gaps and most of all if you are trying to heat with a wood-burning fireplace BE CAREFUL! Be careful because houses do burn down and people are killed every year using their wood-burning fireplaces.