Is your fireplace energy efficient?

High efficiency wood stoves can lower your heating costs and are eligible for federal tax credits. Photo: Miranda Boutelle

Fireplaces can be more suited for ambiance than for creating heat. When you have a fire, warm air rises and draws the smoke out through the chimney. This also draws the warm air out of the house. The impact is even worse in drafty homes. 

But if you enjoy curling up in front of the fireplace during the colder months, here are some tips to efficiently operate a fireplace in your home. 

First, a word about the chimney damper, which should be open when you have a fire going or when any hot ashes are in the fireplace to ensure smoke and carbon monoxide don’t come into your home. Once the fire and all ashes are fully extinguished, close the damper. Leaving the damper open allows warm air to escape, wasting energy. 

If your damper doesn’t close properly or your chimney doesn’t have one, purchase a chimney plug—many sizes and styles are available, including inflatable options. 

Types of fireplaces 

Wood fireplaces are not an efficient option to heat your home because most of the heat goes out of the chimney. 

Fireplaces with gas logs are required to be installed with a mechanism that always keeps the damper open. This safety feature allows gases from the pilot light to escape. Glass doors can reduce the impact of air leakage in the winter and summer months. 

Sealed combustion gas fireplaces are fully enclosed systems that draw the air needed for combustion from the outside. When properly installed, they provide the fire’s warmth without the worry of heat loss from drafts.

Woodstoves and pellet stoves are additional options that provide more heat than wood or gas fireplaces. Federal tax credits are available for high-efficiency biomass stoves. Visit www.energystar.gov for more information. 

Safe AND warm 

If you have a woodstove, fireplace or any fuel-burning appliance in your home, be sure to install and maintain smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can be harmful or even deadly if not detected. 

MIRANDA BOUTELLE writes on energy efficiency for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.