October 17, 2019

Hey Everyone!

Now that we're into fall it's getting darker earlier and the weather is colder. It's the perfect season for lighting up that fireplace. Sixty-five percent, or approximately 100 million homes, in North America are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces.

Unfortunately, as charming as they are, there are negative side effects that the fireplace brings to a home. Fireplaces are massive energy losers.

Scroll down to find out more and what you can do about it

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A Wood Burning Lantern That Fits In Your Hand? You have to see this!

Researchers have studied this to determine the amount of heat loss through a fireplace, and the results are amazing.

One research study showed that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent.

* A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter due to the air leakage and wasted energy caused by fireplaces.

* Why does a home with a fireplace have higher heating bills? Hot air rises. Your heated air leaks out any exit it can find, and when warm heated air is drawn out of your home, cold outside air is drawn in to make up for it. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking the heated air from your house. That is why it is important to always keep the damper closed and the doors shut (if you have them) whenever the fireplace is not in use.

* An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a fireplace draftstopper. A fireplace draftstopper is an inflatable pillow that seals the damper, eliminating any air leaks. The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted after.

Is that a plant inside a light bulb? Yes! Take a look...

Go Green Hint:

Most people don't realize that even when in use, modern fireplaces are not effective heat sources and the reality is, they suck air from your home. You actually LOSE heat when you run your fire place unless you have fireplace doors that you keep closed (basically going just for the ambience) or you can close off that room and minimize the flue draft. If you really want your fireplace to work for you, consider fireplace inserts, inset stoves and that sort of thing.

If all you want is the ambience, try placing 10 or 12 candles inside your fireplace and lighting them. You still get the soft, flickering glow of a live flame, but you can leave the damper closed and the glass doors mostly shut. Without a huge fire sucking warm air OUT of the room you can minimize the heat loss.