Fireplaces Moving From Decorations to Heat Source
Posted by Laura Nelson on February 7, 2010
Fireplaces have maintained their popularity with homeowners, but their function is evolving. For the last fifty years, a traditional fireplace has been a fixture in home decor. No longer. Improvements in construction and design are rapidly making the fireplace a valuable element in home heating.
“An efficient fireplace can be used as zone heating,” says Sean Folino, of Olde English Chimney Sweeps. According to Folino, one of the biggest trends in fireplaces is direct vent designs with gas logs. Insert systems are up to 90% efficient–far surpassing the heat output of a traditional fireplace. Inserts burn much less gas than traditional log sets while providing more heat to the living area, according to Folino. Inserts are made of cast iron or steel and have self-cleaning glass doors for full fire viewing.
Older fireplaces waste energy by drawing heated room air into the fire and up the chimney. An insert slows down the fire and and increases its temperature for more complete combustion.
Tax credits are available on many new energy-efficient fireplace inserts, solid fuel and biomass units that have efficiency ratings higher than 75%. Homeowners may qualify for a federal tax credit of 30 percent, up to $1,500. Some other heat sources, such as wood stoves or electric stand-alone models may also qualify.
To learn more about energy-efficient fireplaces, visit www.ChicagoChimney.com. Olde English Chimney Sweeps is a full service chimney maintenance company, and also sells a wide variety of hearth products. (630) 679-9500
Tags:Home & Garden
