The Reasons To Use Wood Burning Fireplace Inserts For Your Home
Wood burning fireplace inserts turn inefficient fireplaces into true heat producing devices, with the body of the burning chamber inside the fireplace rather than sitting out in the room. The hearth and the existing fireplace surround are all the heat protection needed to satisfy safety requirements.
Fireplaces have chimneys to draw the smoke of burning wood up and out, so it does not enter the room. Unfortunately, most of the heat produced by the flames goes up and out as well. Heating a room with a fireplace is a very inefficient use of wood, even though it may be pretty.
Setting an insert into a fireplace means that the firebox is inside the wall, not out in the room. The smoke goes up the chimney, so there are no visible stovepipes visible. The existing hearth and fireplace surround will probably be adequate heat protection for the walls and floor, and only the front surface is exposed.
Inserts are more than just glass doors that close the fireplace opening off. An insert is a firebox that is set inside the fireplace, using the chimney as a smoke vent and blowers to get the hot air out into the room. Inserts are more airtight than fireplaces, with some models rivaling the efficiency of the best free-standing stoves.
For this reason, an insert must fit the room or area it will heat and the kind of wood burning the family does. A lightweight, less airtight insert may be best for a family room which will only be heated with wood as a supplement to the central heating on week-ends or in the evenings, perhaps. A heavier, truly air tight stove that will burn for eight hours or more on one load of wood may be needed if the main heat in the house is to be provided by the insert.
Inserts, like stoves, must be operated correctly to provide the most heat for the least amount of wood and to burn cleanly and give off good heat. Wood fires should burn hot at the beginning to ignite the wood and to burn off its creosote, and then the air intake can be reduced to keep the fire burning just enough to combine efficiency with safety. Letting a fire smolder too much can cause creosote build-up and increase the risk of chimney fires.
When evaluating wood burning fireplace inserts, homeowners should get one only as big as they need for the space to be heated. The largest and most airtight insert may not be the best, if what is needed is short-term fires in the evening rather than whole house heating with wood.
Discover great prices on wood burning fireplace inserts by looking online. There are many electric fireplace inserts that you may consider buying. Head online today and find more.
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