Have A Fireplace? Consider 5 Tips to Keeping the Heat In Your Home:

We recently talked about the positive implications of burning a top-down burn, but if you own a home with a fireplace-chimney, you will want to make sure that you are keeping any and all heat inside of you home after you have enjoyed the fire.

Here are 5 ways to maximize the amount of heat being kept in your home:

1. Remember to shut the fireplace damper when the fireplace is not in use. The damper is designed to create a draft – leave it open and it will do its job – drawing air up and out of the home. We recently came across a home in which the damper was unable to be shut due to a blockage – talk about wasting hot air.
2. A Heat-Air Exchange could be installed, in addition to a glass door front. The Heat-Air exchange is designed to send the warm air back into the room.
3. Ensure there is no draftiness around the seals of your fireplace damper. As we stated before, the damper is designed to create a draft when opened, but if it is closed and not well sealed, you will run into the same issue as before – loss of the warm air in the home.
4. Consider insulating your chimney. A chimney liner may increase the life of a chimney as the gases created during combustion are extremely acidic, eating away at the mortar joints of a standard ceramic flue system.  According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America, a liner system can also protect from the transfer of combustibles into other structural components of the home. “In the NBS tests, unlined chimneys allowed heat to move through the chimney so rapidly that the adjacent woodwork caught fire in only 3 1/2 hours” (CSIA).

Always have your chimney cleaned and inspected annually by a certified chimney sweep (CSIA). A chimney sweep, certified by the CSIA has received education and training to address and ensure the components of your chimney’s venting systems are functioning safely and efficiently within your home.

If you own a home with a gas burning fireplace, not only are these tips extremely important, but a critical consideration in addition to reducing the loss of heat in your home is to also consider the safety of having a gas-burning appliance running inside of your home (furnace included). Carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odorless gas that is extremely dangerous to have trapped inside of a home. Your CSIA certified sweeps are trained to address the necessary drafting of these appliances (included the fireplace) for optimum safety and efficiency, of these appliances.

If you have any questions about these tips, do not hesitate to reach out to us here at Brick + Ember Outfitters. All of our Sweeps have been certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. At B+E, we are committed to the safety and functionality of your chimney venting systems.