Fireplace Warehouse ETC—Gas Fireplace Inserts Transform Old Masonry Fireplace Spaces
Many Coloradans, especially those sensitive to the northern Front Range’s burgeoning winter air quality issues, have simply put their traditional fireplaces out of commission. However, even when putting a vase of dried flowers in the old fireplace, or hiding it with a screen, a mothballed masonry fireplace is still a source of winter drafts and heating energy lost up the chimney.
While even under older code standards, many Denver and Colorado Springs area homes are well insulated to meet the challenge of our high altitude winters, your chimney is closed off from the outside air by just a thin damper flap that might not seal very well any more. With central heating systems, you likely won’t feel a draft from the outside coming down the chimney, but you definitely are experiencing a higher heating bill due to warm air drafting up past that damper.
How Efficient Are Fireplace Inserts?
The efficiency rating of an open air masonry fireplace is about 10%, meaning it is more of an aesthetic feature than it is something that can combat high energy bills in the winter.
Fireplace inserts, no matter whether they burn wood, pellets, or natural gas, boast heating efficiencies of up to 80% or more. Gas and other fireplace inserts are made of cast iron or steel, and designed to be installed inside your existing masonry fireplace, using your existing chimney as the vent to the outside.
Higher efficiency is most dramatically noticeable when using wood as the fuel. By achieving roughly 80% efficiency, each piece of wood you consume goes further than it does with the old fireplace design. If the prospect of heating your home with a fireplace sounded ridiculous, in part that was because of how much wood it would take to even try. High efficiency means not having to have a forest’s worth of cord wood stacked nearby, just one or two cords will do the heating job all winter long.
Most fireplace insert models either come standard with fans, or can be upgraded to include one. These fans serve to circulate the warmed air from the firebox out into your home. Depending upon the capability of the unit you choose, your fireplace insert can heat as many as three thousand square feet.
Buy With Confidence
Do you know that we install and service everything we sell? Converting that old fireplace is now easier than you ever thought possible.
To see the gas and other fireplace inserts we sell, come by Fireplace Warehouse ETC’s locations in Denver or Colorado Springs. You can also contact our fireplace store at 1.866.738.8409 with any questions you have.