Comments on: The Fireplace Myth – Why Fires Can Cost You Hundreds

By: Brian Smith

Brian Smith — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:36:53 +0000

This article may be true of a ‘fireplace’ but is completely wromg concerning a wood burning stove or a stove insert into a fireplace. All that is required is a combustion air vent to the stove or fireplace to stop the depletion of oxygen in the room. My house is completely heated with a stove with a cost savings of thousands of dollars a year as wood is plentiful

By: skip frantz

skip frantz — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:57:52 +0000

TI disagree with some of your thinking. If your fire place has a cover on the front as mine does it eliminates a lot of the room air loss with the vents at the bottom, I turn on the the room fan to distribute the heat that is generated from the fireplace thus heating the room and when the other ceiling fans are used it heats the house somewhat evenly.What I think you need to publish is there are different scenerios for different fireplaces before you go whole hog saying all fire places are bad and you get our wives in a uproar about everything they readype your comment here.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 01:24:14 +0000

I,ve heard this theory before so I did my own experiment. I turned off my heat and kept my 2,000 square foot house warm for over 15 hours with just the fireplace and the central fan on for circulation. The temperature outside was about zero. If I turn off my heat and no fire the temperature drops about 10 degrees in 2 hours. So don’t listen to this stupid article.

By: Robert Stanhope

Robert Stanhope — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:10:51 +0000

You are 100% corect a fireplace will suck the heat right out of your house because of the draft that it creats but you can utilize that heat with as you call it a heat exchanger. Fire manegment is the key to making a unit like this work for you.

By: pfadvice

pfadvice — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 04:33:34 +0000

@Pete

What you fail to take into account is that the people on the plains were not in rooms that had already been heated by a furnace. The reason it wastes heat is that a fire requires oxygen and sucks up the already warmed air in the house with it (which then means cold air from outside needs to be warmed again by the furnace). If you have no heater going in your house you are correct, but most people do.

By: Pete

Pete — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:57:53 +0000

I am so tired of this asinine “myth” in itself.

According to your logic, a fireplace will vent more heat than it can produce which is ridiculous!

If that were the case, every pioneer on the plains in the ninteenth century would have frozen to death.

Try Again.

By: Garry Byrne

Garry Byrne — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:45:45 +0000

I take issue with the idea fireplaces remove more heat than they provide. You accounted for all the factors except one. The fireplace introduces heat in the form of radiation, both from fire and from heated, insulated brick. When my power was out for three days, my fireplace warmed my house nicely. It also results in my furnace coming on much less often. I will concede that, of all forms of wood burning to acquire heat, the fireplace is the least efficient and that there are some very badly designed ones that just may fit your description. Wood stove is much better. Masonry stove is best.

By: Elizebeth

Elizebeth — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 02:32:50 +0000

How much does a fireplace cost nowadays??? That’s the one thing you didn’t say and I need to know.

By: pfadvice

pfadvice — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 15:53:07 +0000

What if your fireplace has a blower on it? We have seen a significant decrease in our heating bill by using the fireplace. It will help some as some of the hot air that would be going up the chimney will be headed back in the room. It still takes oxygen, however, to keep the fire burning which is being sucked out of the room. If you are fairly near the fireplace you should feel quite warm, but you'd still be better off keeping the thermostat set at a low temperature so it doesn't have to work hard heating up air that will be leaving the room soon.

By: Generation X Finance » Thanksgiving Friday Five

Generation X Finance » Thanksgiving Friday Five — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 15:37:03 +0000

[...] The Fireplace Myth – Why Fires Can Cost You Hundreds – As we approach the winter season here in most of the U.S. many homes use fireplaces as an additional source of heat. Personal Finance Advice takes a look at how it can end up costing more money to start a fire, and ways to save. [...]