Having a home with a fireplace can create a great ambience for relaxing on a cold winter’s night. However, it’s not uncommon for homeowners to wonder if they should use their fireplace as their main source of wintertime heat. Below, our heating services team will assess the costs associated with a fireplace and whether it’s a viable home heating option for your household.
Types of Fireplaces
One of the biggest factors that will play a role in the total cost of running your fireplace is the type of fuel you use. There are generally three types of fireplaces, which are wood-burning, electric, and gas. Each input has a different price point depending on your specific area. Both gas and wood will have a moderate cost, while electric will typically cost the most to run.
Maintenance
If your fireplace burns fuel to create heat, it will have a chimney to vent out toxic exhaust fumes, like carbon monoxide. To ensure your home stays safe from any toxic fume buildup, it’s vitally important to get annual chimney cleaning service. This professional service isn’t necessary for those with electric fireplaces, as they don’t produce any toxic exhaust fumes.
Efficiency
Another key factor to keep in mind is the actual operating efficiency of your fireplace. The less efficient it is, the more fuel you’ll have to supply. In general, traditional wood-burning open fireplaces are extremely inefficient, ranging between 10 to 20%. There are newer fireplace inserts and wood-burning stoves that can range in efficiency between 60 and 80%.
Fireplaces that use propane or natural gas can have an efficiency between 50 to 90% depending on the specific model you get. Electric fireplaces operate at 100% efficiency because there’s no combustion process causing energy loss.
Can Fireplaces Provide Whole-Home Heating?
In general, traditional open-faced fireplaces aren’t recommended as a sole heating source. Their vast inefficiency would require an extensive input of wood and likely won’t keep your home at a warm temperature. These fireplaces are great for providing ambience for your room and a small amount of heat when sitting up close.
Gas and wood fireplace inserts can be great for providing supplemental heating for your home. Gas units provide a controllable amount of steady heat. However, their operating efficiency is still too low to rely on for whole-home heating. An electric fireplace can be effective for heating a particular area of your home, like a home office. However, they’re only effective at warming the immediate area, like space heaters. They’re not a great whole-home heating option.
Beneficial Ways to Use Fireplaces for Home Heating
While fireplaces typically don’t make a good whole-home heating solution, they can be a beneficial source of supplemental heat when used correctly. Fireplaces can be a great addition to rooms that you use frequently. For example, if your whole family gathers in the living room throughout the evening, adding a fireplace to your living room can be highly beneficial.
You can increase the heat for that specific room while leaving the thermostat for your main heating system lower. This will reduce the run-time of your main heating system while maximizing the comfort your fireplace can provide. Even better, you can enjoy the relaxing ambience they can produce. If you happen to have a free source of wood, you may find that running a fireplace can provide supplemental heating to reduce your main heating bills throughout the winter months.
Other Benefits of Having a Fireplace
There’s no doubt that having a fireplace in your home can add to its overall resale value. Homebuyers love the ambience a fireplace can create, and it serves as a backup heating source in the event of an emergency situation. Having a fireplace in your home can bring you peace of mind that you can still stay warm when the local power grid goes out.
One of the worst times of the year is those damp winter evenings, as the high indoor humidity can let the cold linger. Fortunately, when you have a wood-burning fireplace, all you need to do is burn some wood to reduce your indoor humidity level slightly. You can turn on gas and electric models to aid in comfort as well. This will add supplemental heat and allow you to naturally feel warmer, thanks to the humidity level being back to a comfortable level.
Expert Heating Installation Service
Bratcher Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. offers expert heating installation services for the Bloomington, IL area. We can also assist with all your heating replacement, repair, and maintenance needs. Phone our office today to book your next service consultation with our friendly staff.
