Oh, the warm glow and ambiance of a crackling fire on a cold winter night! Sitting in a chair with a good book, your toes warming by the flames, you might feel pretty toasty. Maertin Heating and Cooling hates to melt away this impression, but we’re here to explain how lighting your fireplace is actually making your home colder and wasting energy.
Your first step when preparing a fire is opening the damper. WHOOSH! That’s the sound of energy dollars sucking up the flue! Open your damper is like opening a window, changing your home’s pressure and letting cold air rush in and your heated air out, about 1,000 cubic feet of per minute. That’s about 1,000 basketballs full of air getting sucked out of your chimney every 60 seconds! There is no way around this; whenever you light your fireplace you MUST open the damper to avoid smoke and poison gases from entering your home.
We know what you’re thinking. “When I light that fire, that will stop the heat loss, and it’ll heat my room too.” Well, no. You’re only enjoying about 10 to 20% of that heat, because 80 to 90 percent goes right up your chimney. Translated into cash terms, that means you’re getting about $15 worth of heat for every $100 you spend on firewood.
You’ll also experience a drop in temperature in the other rooms in your home, which means your furnace will have to work harder to warm the cold air all around your house.
We understand you’re still going to light that fireplace because we love ours too!
To save as many heating dollars as possible, make sure you close the door to the room with the fireplace, or as many other doors as possible to prevent overall heat loss. Then, crack a window or outside door in the room while your fire is starting. Make sure you close the damper after the fire is completely out and stone cold. Have the damper checked annually for dents or damage that could prevent it from sealing completely.
Make sure safety is your number one priority when using your fireplace. Fireplaces and chimneys are involved in 42 percent of all home-heating fires according to the National Fire Protection Association.
• Only burn cured, dried wood
• Burn firewood and only firewood
Crates, lumber, construction scraps, painted wood, or other treated wood releases poisonous chemicals into your home.
• Have a stainless steel chimney cap installed
• Install carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors
• Get a chimney cleaning each time you burn 3 cords of wood
• Clean the firebox of ashes after each fire has cooled completely.
• NEVER LEAVE A FIRE UNATTENDED.
When you have questions about energy efficiency or heating safety, Maertin Heating and Cooling are just the people to contact. Just call 708-479-9350 or click here. We are always happy to help!
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