Choose the Perfect Fireplace for your Home
As winter takes hold, you can be sure that it is going to be a cold year and a fireplace is the ideal way to warm up a home.
23/05/2019
Nothing beats the ambiance and warmth of a fireplace and it is the perfect piece to create a focal point in the home. If this is the year you have decided it's time to install a fireplace, keep these points in mind to determine which heat source is the perfect one for your home.
Choosing the Right Size Fireplace
In order to determine the right size fireplace for a room, consider that the power output of a fireplace is measured in kilowatts (kW). If you choose one that puts out too much heat you will forever be using the dampener to keep flames low. That ultimately means that your fireplace won’t burn efficiently, causing chimney problems such as soot build-up. If you choose a fireplace that is too small, the room won’t be warm enough.
Height (m) x Length (m) x Width (m) of room x 0,07 = the number of kW
Open Fireplace
If you love the ambiance and romance of an open fireplace than an open grate might be the best way to appreciate the dancing flames and hear the crackle of a log fire. However, consider that more than half the heat generated by an open fireplaces is lost up the chimney and they have their shortcomings.
They might look cosy, but an open fireplace uses more fuel and this makes them less cost-effective and definitely not as eco-friendly as closed combustion alternatives. An open fireplace also requires more maintenance when you consider cleaning out of ash and so on.
Closed Combustion Fireplace
One of the most popular types of fireplaces for a home are wood-burning fireplaces. While generally more expensive than an open fireplace, a wood-burning fireplace will pay for itself in savings on electricity within a few years. Most wood-burning fireplaces can also burn coal and these are incredibly effective and efficient. Up to 80 percent of the heat generated by a wood-burning fireplace goes into warming up a room, which makes these models easier on fuel and cleaner to run.
A wood-burning fireplace heats up rooms quickly, and comes in a variety of finishes – in steel or cast iron and generally pay for themselves in savings on electricity in a few years . These models can look either traditional or sleek and modern –
Flue-Less Gas Fireplace
With the added advantage that a flue-less gas fireplaces does not require a chimney to be installed, they are considerably more versatile than fireplaces that require a chimney. The flue-less method means that you can install wherever you want them to go. A flue-less gas fireplace also provides ambiance with the dancing flames of a real fire, and can almost disappear when they’re not in use, making them very unimposing.
Built-In or Freestanding Fireplaces
Where you already have an existing hearth or fireplace, or an inset that can easily and quickly be installed in the space, so you need the fireplace to sit flush with the wall. An inset closed combustion fireplace will make huge improvements in efficiency, especially when compared to an open hearth.
Freestanding fireplaces are usually a little more efficient than inserts, but can take up much more valuable floor space. They have similar restrictions in terms of where you can place them (taking into account requirements for the chimney), but insets are better for small or narrow rooms since they take up less space.