Using your fireplace to heat part of your home isn’t as simple as starting a fire and letting nature take its course. In fact, there are several things you can do to maximize the heat generated by a woodstove, fireplace, or fireplace insert:
Use your home’s air flow
If you have a forced air heating system, you can turn off the fan feature to help move the air in your home. You can also turn on ceiling fans to help push warm ceiling air downward.
Fan the flames of your fire
A small fan or box fan can be set on low and pointed directly into the fire place. This will create movement like a convection oven. Some fireplace insert units have an electric fan in the upper corner precisely for that purpose.
Know your space
A home with multiple rooms, floors, or high ceilings will be harder to adequately heat, especially if you have lost power and the fireplace becomes your only source of heat. Should that occur and you need or chose to remain in your home at least temporarily, move your family into one or two rooms and close the doors to any rooms you aren’t using. This will keep more warm air in a smaller space for your greater comfort.
Cleaner is better
Your fireplace and chimney should be cleaned every year for maximum heating efficiency and to reduce the risk of a creosote fire.
Glass doors generate more heat
If you don’t already have them, adding glass doors to your fireplace will help generate more heat in your home while decreasing the amount of heat lost up your chimney. Glass doors also help provide an added measure of safety, a key ingredient in any household, especially if you have small children. The doors also create a tight seal that will prevent heat loss when there the fireplace is idle.
Assuming you don’t operate your fireplace 24/7, you still depend a great deal on your home heating system. Which means you have yet another reason to depend on Burton, your Omaha area heating professionals. From annual preventive maintenance to 24/7 emergency repairs and new system installation, we’re here to provide what you need, when you need it. Have a current home heating need? One call to Burton is all it takes to get it addressed.
