The Wood Fireplace Insert Blog

Wood pellet fireplaces are becoming a more populare option for reducing utility costs as heating fuel prices continue to soar.

The wood pellets that are used to fuel these pellet fireplaces are made from wood scraps that are compressed into pellets to form a smooth flowing and even burning fuel. Although they are typically a less expensive way to heat they are a bit less convenient than just turning up the thermostat to the furnace.

The pellets typically come packaged in 40-50 pound bags. They can be bought in small numbers or delivered by the pallet.  Each day the pellet fireplace is in use it has to be reloaded.  With heavy usage it may require a second refill.

But according to Peter Howe of NECN, Jon Strimling had a better idea.  His idea was for homeowners to be able to flick a switch and have a hopper load the pellet fireplaces and then have a delivery truck load the hopper.

“We’re taking pellets in bulk out of the back of this truck, by bulk I mean there’s no bags in them, and we’re flowing them down this pipe into the garage” says Strimling.

The typical home using 3-4 tons a year would only require two fills to keep their pellet fireplace running. That’s 3-4 tons that the homeowner doesn’t have to move by hand.

Strimling’s company currently charges around $325/ton, with the bags being delivered on pallets. In heating value, that is 30-40% less expensive than heating oil. They have just begun selling hopper systems and hope it will make pellets even more popular.

Ten to fifteen percent of the product cost is actually tied up in the packaging, so bulk delivery of the pellets is not only less hassle, it costs about 10 percent less as an added bonus.

Despite the hands on requirements of heating with pellets, it’s popularity has grown in recent years. More then 800,000 U.S. households use pellets for either some or all of their heat.  This equates to 2.2 billion pounds of wood pellets annualy. The industry continues to grow with over 80 pellet producers and 23 manufacturers of pellet fireplaces, stoves, and pellet furnaces.

The advanced combustion technology used in a modern wood fireplace insert was developed as part of a serious effort by the U.S. and Canada to reduce emissions from wood stoves in order to satisfy environmental regulations. The main design elements of the wood stove technology are now being incorporated into new fireplaces, creating a safe, efficient and cost-effective alternative to conventional fireplaces. This new technology is also being made available in new wood fireplace inserts which can be installed into an existing fireplace.

These fireplace inserts use a sophisticated secondary combustion process that ensures more complete combustion of the wood and smoke.  This increases the fireplace’s operating efficiency and reduces the amount of emissions escaping from the firebox.

These advanced combustion fireplace inserts use two separate preheated paths of combustion air. One air source feeds directly into the burning wood.  The second is aimed above the main fire in order to capture and ignite the incomplete combustion gases that would otherwise be released up the chimney. This results in two simultaneous combustion zones and flame patterns.

Modern wood fireplace inserts using advanced combustion technology have airtight, gasketed doors, a special ceramic glass window that allows much of the infrared heat to be transmitted to the room, and a hot air blower “sweeping” the window to allow easy viewing of the fire. When a fireplace insert is installed with the back against an exterior wall, some type of insulated outer casing that prevents unwanted heat loss from escaping should be installed.

These advanced combustion units have better heat exchange properties than conventional fireplaces because room air is drawn in through a grille under the firebox where a fan sends it through a heat exchanger and back into the room through grilles at the top of the fireplace.  With some units, the heat can also be ducted to adjacent rooms where an auxiliary fan can send it through ducts to the rest of the house.

The air requirements for these new fireplaces are very low requiring as little as one tenth of the ventilation of a typical house. It is, however, still a good idea to supply the fireplace with direct outside air for combustion (this is mandatory in some areas).

Another benefit of an advanced combustion wood fireplace insert  is that they have little or no interaction with the house air, so the chances of combustion products leaking into the home are minimal.  They also enhance the safety and effectiveness of supplying outdoor air directly to the fireplace. The maze that is used for preheating the air before it goes into the firebox is designed to keep the combustion gases from escaping.

Real Energy Efficiency

Advanced combustion fireplace inserts offer levels of energy efficiency as high as 50 to 70% (even higher when installed in a major living area with an open view to other parts of the house).  This can reduce overall energy demand and dramatically lower heating bills.  This is especially true for homes currently heated by electric baseboards.

Impressive Environmental Benefits

The use of two separate combustion zones reduces emissions by ten fold compared to a conventional fireplace. This enables the environmentally friendly use of wood, which is a renewable energy source. Low levels of creosote and incomplete combustion products virtually eliminate the potential for chimney fires as an added benefit.

Emergency Preparedness

In case of an electrical power failure, new wood fireplace inserts can still operate as emergency heat source for the house. Even though the electrical circulating fan will not operate, the heat from the fire will radiate from the fireplace into the house by natural convection, supplying a significant amount of heat to the home.

Wood Fireplace Insert

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