From the Genius House Hacks archive.
Now that we're into fall it's getting darker earlier and the weather is colder — the perfect season for lighting up that fireplace. Sixty-five percent, or approximately 100 million homes, in North America are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces. Unfortunately, as charming as they are, fireplaces are massive energy losers.
One research study showed that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent. A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter due to the air leakage and wasted energy caused by fireplaces.
Hot air rises, so your heated air leaks out any exit it can find, and when warm heated air is drawn out of your home, cold outside air is drawn in to make up for it. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking the heated air from your house. That is why it is important to always keep the damper closed and the doors shut (if you have them) whenever the fireplace is not in use. An easy, low-cost solution is a fireplace draftstopper, an inflatable pillow that seals the damper, eliminating air leaks; remove it whenever the fireplace is used, then reinsert it after.
Most people don't realize that even when in use, modern fireplaces are not effective heat sources — the reality is you actually lose heat when you run your fireplace unless you have fireplace doors that you keep closed (basically going just for the ambience) or you close off that room and minimize the flue draft.
If all you want is the ambience, try placing 10 or 12 candles inside your fireplace and lighting them. You still get the soft, flickering glow of a live flame, but you can leave the damper closed and the glass doors mostly shut. Without a huge fire sucking warm air out of the room you can minimize the heat loss.
