A brick-and-mortar fireplace is one of any home’s most aesthetically pleasing features, offering comfort and warmth to the entire space. Traditional wood-burning fireplaces are more efficient and cost-effective than wood stoves or other electric heating appliances.

As a responsible homeowner, you want the most heat from your unit. And it’s possible. Some of the things you need to do include: 

Keep the unit in top shape

Like your car, you can’t expect a poorly maintained fireplace to function optimally. At least once a year, contact reputable chimney contractors to have your fireplace cleaned and maintained. This repair and maintenance will improve airflow and increase heat output for your next fire. 

 You shouldn’t remove all the ash in the chimney but rather leave some on top to improve airflow to the fire. To lower the amount of ash in the chimney, remove a little ash on a regular basis.

Make a habit of monitoring the fireplace regularly, and you should never leave it unattended. 

When hiring a maintenance professional, ensure you work with an experienced one who knows what they are doing. The last thing you want is to hire a contractor only to find that they aren’t experienced enough and end up ruining your unit. 

Install a fireplace insert.

Studies show that instead of the normal 10% efficiency of a regular wood-burning fireplace, an air-tight wood-burning fireplace insert can increase your fireplace’s efficiency by 70-80%. 

 You should install a wood-burning fireplace insert within your existing fireplace, which serves as a well-insulated firebox constructed of steel or cast iron. 

The most efficient inserts are double-wall units with built-in circulating fans that direct warm air from the fire into the room.

Hire an expert to install your fireplace insert. The insert should be designed precisely for your current firebox and linked directly to the flue liner to ensure accuracy. 

Sometimes, the contractor may have to use a new flue liner to ensure the insert is appropriate. 

 When looking for inserts, choose those that are high-efficiency and EPA-approved.

Burn high-quality wood

Frequently, what passes for firewood has been in a pile for years, decomposing and producing mushrooms. Turns out that rotten wood produces less heat than rot-free wood. 

Good wood burns hotter for three reasons. One, it is substantially drier. When wood has moisture, it must burn to remove the water before it can produce heat. As you can tell, this means that it loses heat. 

Second, good wood doesn’t rot. Rotten wood is lighter than good wood, therefore there is less to burn. 

Third, good wood usually indicates good hardwoods. When you burn good oak or hickory, which are hardwoods, the fire is really hot.

For the best outcome, always burn well-seasoned wood. Well-seasoned wood has lower moisture content and burns more efficiently than moist wood. 

Do not use recently felled wood or wood with a greenish hue, as it may not burn in the long term. Dry logs of wood that have been dried for up to 6 months to remove moisture and are well-seasoned are the best to go for. 

Get a chimney damper

A chimney damper serves as an entryway for air in your chimney. It helps to maximize the amount of heat produced by your fireplace while minimizing heat loss when it is not in use. 

 Chimney dampers are sometimes used with glass doors to form a stronger barrier to heat loss when the fireplace is not in use. 

 When installing the damper, ensure that the handle for opening and closing is above the fireplace entrance. To open, you only need to slide it to the right.

When lighting a fire, open the damper as wide as possible to generate additional heat. A wide-open damper increases the air hitting the fire, improving combustion. As a result, the fire will become hotter. 

When not using your fireplace, close the damper to keep indoor heat from escaping.

Ensure the room is properly ventilated.

Ventilating a room is equally vital as keeping the chimney clean by opening the damper. Chimneys are designed to remove hazardous gases from your fireplace and home. 

 A lack of ventilation in the room from the chimney may result in a vacuum, mingling fresh air with the created smoke. This vacuum decreases the chimney’s ability to suck air from the fireplace while allowing fresh air into the flames. 

 Unfortunately, many homes are now securely built, leaving little space for air to enter. This can interfere with the air supply to the fireplace. To optimize the heating performance of a wood-burning fireplace, ensure that your room is well-ventilated and the fire is constantly fed with new air.

Remember that leaving the door to other rooms of the house open or leaving the room’s windows partially open will help enhance airflow to the fireplace. 

There is no need to open the windows wide; a few centimeters is plenty. 

Ventilation from the exterior through vents and windows allows warm air inside your home to be released from the outside rather than through the chimney, resulting in a perfect harmony between the fireplace and the air. 

Invest in chimney fans.

Chimney fans provide forceful drafts, resulting in hotter-burning fires. They improve a chimney’s draft by drawing air up and out while bringing more heat into the house. 

 Chimney fans also effectively keep soot and smoke out of the home. These fans draw soot and smoke from the chimney rather than allowing it to blow indoors.

As a result, you have a properly functioning chimney with minimal smoke entering the house. 

Parting shot

As you have seen, it’s not hard to always get an optimally burning fireplace. As mentioned, work with reputable chimney cleaning services Upper Marlboro that will not only help with the fireplace’s maintenance but also advise on the right features to install in your unit to make it more functional.

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