A wood-burning fireplace is truly a d or element of captivating beauty and serves as an architectural focal point. These fireplaces do much more than keeping the place warm and had always been a design idea advocating romanticism. There are countless aesthetic benefits of installing an indoor fireplace in your home. However, it is important to remember, augmenting the warmth and comfort levels of the house is its utmost priority. That’s the reason why fireplaces must be efficient and there shouldn’t be any problem relating to heat leakage around the fireplace. To augment a fireplace efficiency, many additional elements are used such as fireplace doors and fireplace inserts. Here we will discuss the common tips and tricks to make your fireplace more energy efficient.
The problem of Heat Leakage from Fireplace
Heat leakage is a major concern in both traditional and contemporary fireplaces and results in massive wastage of heat energy. It is estimated only about 10% of the heat energy is used in warming up the room and the remaining 90% energy escapes through the chimney. That’s not all, the openings in the chimney also allow the ingress of the outside cold air that spoils the warmth and coziness of the interior space. This heat leakage problem with the fireplaces present a contemplating home heating concern and must be resolved at the earliest.
However, there are numerous ways to make a standard wood-burning furnace more energy efficient. This allows the homeowners to make the best use of heat energy and make the interior space cozier, warmer, and more comfortable. In addition to this, the heat leakage and escape continue even when the fireplace isn’t burning and this leakage of warm energy makes the fireplace inefficient and wasteful. The heated air spaces are often filled up by cold air gushing inwards from the chimney and the entire process carries on ultimately resulting in a massive decrease of fireplace efficiency.
How to make your Fireplace more energy efficient?
Considering the fireplace heat leakage issue, homeowners must take proactive measures to counteract this heat energy concern. Numerous accessories such as fireplace doors, dampers, radiators, and firebacks can be used to resolve the heat energy leakage issues. The following are the few cool ways to make your fireplace more energy efficient.
- Throat & Other Sealing Dampers
Using a fireplace throat damper is one of the most common preventive measures taken by homeowners to make fireplaces more efficient. Considered as sealing dampers, they function by sealing the chimneys top and preventing the ingress of debris and outside elements. This also restricts the entry of outside cold air replacing the heated air spaces left behind by the leaked heat air. These dampers are often made up of metal plates and are designed to fit tightly in the chimney restricting the leakage of air. Easy-to-install and affordable dampers present homeowners with a quick and effective solution for augmenting fireplace efficiency.
- A Cast Iron Fire back
Fireback is nothing but a heavy sheet of metal placed behind the fire. This allows the fireplace to generate more heat energy. These firebacks function by absorbing the generated heat and reverberating it back to the room. In addition to this, it is also a great preventive measure for maintaining and protecting the fireplace and looks visually appealing to the eye. In the absence of a fireback, the majority of heat energy escapes through the chimney and with a cast iron fireback a major portion of heat energy is absorbed by the metal plate before it could escape.
- Glass Fireplace Doors
In addition to firebacks and throat dampers, a glass fireplace door is another exceptional preventive and proactive measure to augment fireplace efficiency. These glass doors are not only appealing to the eyes but also make the fireplace easier to heat up quickly and effectively. These aesthetic glass doors section off the room and the fireplace allowing it to work more efficiently. The primary objective of these doors is to restrict the escape of heat energy through the chimneys.
These glass doors are also an incredible safety measure for homes with young kids and pets. Some fireplace glass doors are even fitted with a screen mesh whose purpose is to restrict the fire embers from escaping the fireplace and entering the room. There are numerous kinds of fireplace glass doors used in fireplaces and the price of the glass door depends on the quality of the glass. Most commonly, fire-resistant and high-strength glasses are used to make the fireplace doors designed to withstand the effects of high temperature without compromising on durability.
- Other Fireplace Efficiency Tools
In addition to these, there are also many other tools and techniques used to make fireplaces more energy efficient. These include the likes of radiators, grate heaters, and fireplace inserts. It is also essential to remember the two common strategies used to prevent heat loss and make the fireplace more energy efficient. Radiation and convection are the two common strategies used to augment the fireplace’s efficiency and is commonly considered when designing the fireplace efficiency tools.
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Tips to keep your fireplace clean
There are some common tips and tricks homeowners must remember to keep the fireplace and fireplace doors clean and prolong its design life. The most common trick is to clean the fire ash regularly and prevent it from accumulating at the grate’s bottom. The following are some other fireplace cleaning tips:
- Remember to cover the hearth with a plastic tarp when cleaning the fireplace.
- Scoop out the debris and remove the logs before cleaning.
- Use vacuum brush-attachment or metal chimney brush to sweep the interior.
- Cleaning chimney floors and walls with water using paper towels, sponge, & rags.
- Using green cleaning solutions such as baking soda, detergent, and vinegar/water mix.
- Let the chimney and fireplace cool off before cleaning the fireplace.
- Conduct regular inspections with metal instruments or other tools.
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