Fireplace Inserts: Better Efficiency, Cleaner Air
Sam Wilhoit
Fireplace inserts do more than breathe new life into an old,
wood-burning fireplace. Fireplace inserts also provide cleaner
air in your home and create a more efficient heating system,
helping reduce energy bills in the face of today’s skyrocketing
gas prices.
What is a Fireplace Insert, Anyway?
Fireplace inserts are steel or cast iron fireboxes that are
fitted directly into your original fireplace. Fronted by
self-cleaning safety glass, fireplace inserts draw and exhaust
heat and fumes through the original chimney or via a pipe
directly vented through an exterior wall. Fireplace inserts are
safer and more efficient than traditional fireplaces because
combustible air is drawn into the firebox through one pipe, and
toxic fumes are vented back outside through another. The
resulting heat is forced back into the room—sans toxic
fumes—via vents in the front, creating a more efficient heating
system.
Gas Fireplace Inserts
Stylishly and conveniently updating an older fireplace, gas
fireplace inserts use decorative logs and gas jets to suffuse a
room with radiant heat. These fireplace inserts can be fueled
through your home’s natural gas line or a propane tank (which
are also available in varying sizes from smaller propane tanks
to large tanks stored underground). Choices abound when it
comes to gas fireplace inserts, with options on everything from
venting (vent-free, natural vent and direct vent fireplace
inserts are available) to blaze preference. For instance, if a
yellow flame hearkens back to the hearth of your childhood, a
ceramic fiber log set will create luxurious radiant heat with a
gorgeous glow and realistic flame. Not that particular? Try the
less expensive concrete gas log set and get set for a
comfortable haven of warmth.
Wood-burning Fireplace Inserts
Still crave the crackle of a real wood fire? Want a fireplace
insert with low-cost fuel? An EPA-certified wood-burning
fireplace insert can create a blaze contained within a firebox
that uses a glass door rather than a single, permanently sealed
glass front. These inserts create a less smoky atmosphere than
their traditional wood-burning counterparts while still
radiating plenty of heat efficiently. According to the Hearth,
Patio and Barbeque Association, wood-burning fireplace inserts
generate nearly 65 percent more heat than traditional
fireplaces and cut smoke emissions by nearly 90 percent. An
added bonus: wood-burning fires can provide warmth and light
when a power or gas line goes down.
Fireplace Insert Fuel Options
It’s not all gas and wood when it comes to fueling your new
fireplace insert. Fuel pellets made from compressed sawdust are
available for wood-burning fireplace inserts. You can buy
heating pellets in bulk, making it easier to budget for your
heating costs in advance. Pellet fuel also emits the lowest
amount of smoke emissions, according to the HPBA, and is
available from specialty and home improvement retailers. If
compressed sawdust isn’t for you, coal is another option for
fueling your new fireplace insert. Also according to the HPBA,
anthracite coal is the most commonly used in supplemental
heating, and is a low-cost, readily available fuel for
wood-burning fireplaces.
Choosing the Right Fireplace Insert
Have plenty of time for maintenance? No time at all? Want
ambiance, not heat? Ask yourself these and other questions
before deciding on which fireplace insert to install. Then talk
to the fireplace insert specialists at Brick-Anew to help
determine the fireplace insert that fits your maintenance
level, style, heat output needs and fuel availability. Complete
your new fireplace insert with Brick-Anew’s fireplace screens,
tools and accessories, and even give your existing masonry a
total makeover with Brick-Anew’s patent-pending brick
remodeling system. Then lie back in front of your roaring fire
and say, “Now that’s a fireplace.”
About The Author: By Sam Wilhoit of
http://www.brick-anew.com/
provider of fireplace glass doors:
http://www.brick-anew.com/glass-doors/fireplace-glass-doors.html/
. Brick-Anew has been a providor of fireplace paint &
accessories since 1997.
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