Alternatives To Burning Wood Or Coals In Your Fireplace During The Upcoming Winter Months?
I’ve tried those single logs that burn for 2 hours and then I’ve also tried regular burning wood, but it’s a messy job early in the morning when I have to sweep all the ashes, and I suffer from terrible allergies.
I am a conservationist and my family and I are trying are best to search for other possible alternatives to cutting our heating, gas, and electric bills over the winter months. Does anyone have any good suggestions?
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November 26, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
Since you are a conservationalist there is really only a few options for you to effectively use your open fireplace in a “green” way. First lets get the bad news out of the way…
The first thing you must understand is that open fireplaces always waste more heat than they generate. Think of them as a wood toilet. I know it sounds counter-intuitive since obviously a fire generates heat. But, the air movement that a fireplace creates in your home is referred to as the “stack effect” and it literally sucks heat out of your home. The fire in the fireplace is grabbing your interior air that your furnace already worked hard to heat and is using it for combustion and tossing it up the chimney along with most of the heat the fire is creating. Meanwhile, your home cannot remain a vacuum after loosing all this air mass, so it starts sucking in cold outside air from other weak points in the home envelope (like windows and doors). In return for this massive waste the fireplace casts a paltry 10% of its available heat forward as radiant heat.
The US Department of Energy has put some statistics to the use of fireplaces. They estimate that a homeowner will consume 10% – 20% more furnace fuel if a fireplace is used regularly in that home.
Now for the good news…If your main goal is to get usable heat from this fireplace an upgrade is in order. An efficient fireplace insert is the only way you can control the heat and air access to your fireplace. plus they are usually equipped with a fan that helps you harvest all that usable radiant heat coming from the insert. An upgrade like this will cost you a few thousand dollars for an efficient model. Unfortunately, the quality manufacturers of these are backordered for about 4-5 months this winter.
Here is the cost effective option: If you don’t have a couple of grand to drop on an insert, and you are looking to just get a little ambiance from your fireplace, you can go this route. First, get that fireplace damper plugged up nice and tight with a chimney balloon damper. Inflate it in the fireplace flue to stop the heat seepage and cold draft through your old damper. Then get a candelabra with some soy candles and put it in the hearth. The soy candles are not petroleum based so they will not push out soot into your interior air. Beanpod makes a pretty good product, but there are others as well. If you have 5 or 6 candles burning in the fireplace you will get a nice flickery glow to the room that is every bit as pleasant as a flickery wood fire, but not as wasteful.
Some people swear by the electric style fireplace inserts, and you can go that route too. They are inexpensive compared to wood inserts, but my opinion is they look a little cheesy.
November 26, 2009 @ 9:34 pm
not much of a choice when it comes to burning for heat source.You have wood logs,scrap wood from manufacturing,composite fibre wood logs from saw dust and other wood debris.Avoid coal unless your stove or fireplace is recommended for it as it burns VERY hot and can cause damage to stove pipes and the stove itself.Never burn plastics,rubber,or other chemical compounds for heat as this pollutes the environment and never burn the green pressure treated wood.
November 27, 2009 @ 3:51 am
This is a hard one to answer. I would suggest investing in a pellet stove, which is a little bit cleaner than wood, weather proof your house(door trim covers, keeping windows closed, removing window mounted Air conditioner units(cuts down on drafts), sealing off parts of your home that you aren’t using(if you have a spare bedroom, cut the heat to that room if possible and leave the door to that room closed.), wear sweaters and warm clothing, eat in the kitchen(closer to the oven so if you are cooking, you can use that heat as well), and that is about all.
November 27, 2009 @ 10:39 am
There are special wood pellets being made to burn in stoves. Not sure if you have to have a special stove for using them. Supposed to be cheaper and cleaner but I haven’t checked into it.
November 27, 2009 @ 2:02 pm
i would burn wood in your fireplace, but i would also get a good shop vacuum to clean up the ashes. if you go this route, try to find one with a hepa filter.
November 27, 2009 @ 5:27 pm
Corn cobs are good for burning especially for long periods like overnight. I’m not sure how many people shell corn anymore but whole ears of field corn may work too.
November 27, 2009 @ 11:24 pm
you could buy a insret and burn corn.