The Wood Fireplace Insert Blog

Many homes have beautiful brick fireplaces that are simply used to create a certain ambiance for the room while others use their fireplace as a secondary heating source for the home and a primary heating source in case of a power outage.  Unfortunately conventional masonry fireplaces are extremely inefficient heat sources and create a lot of air pollution.

That is why the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued a standard for wood stoves and fireplace inserts in 1988.  This standard limits the amount of smoke emissions that can come from any newly built wood stove or insert.  Any wood stove or fireplace insert sold in the U.S. must meet the standards set by the EPA.

When certifying a stove or insert the EPA uses a measure of emissions called the emission rate.  When comparing different stoves or inserts to each other, the emission rate can be a reliable factor for deciding which models are cleaner burning.  For non-catalytic wood stoves the limit is 7.5 grams of smoke that can be released per hour.  The emission limit for catalytic stoves is 4.1 grams per hour.  With recent improvements in technology some stoves have been certified to release as little as 1 gram per hour.

Although catalytic inserts create a more even and longer burning heat, non-catalytic inserts are easier to maintain and run. Catalytic inserts have a catalytic element that should be cleaned regularly and the insert should be run at efficient heats to keep the element in good condition.  Burning anything other than clean seasoned wood can harm the element.  The element will typically need to be replaced anywhere between two and six years of use depending on how well it is maintained.

The main components of a non-catalytic wood burning insert include a system for pre-heating the combustion air before it gets to the firebox, insulation for the firebox itself and a large baffle that creates a flow path for the combustion gases that is longer and hotter.  This system creates an interesting flame pattern that many home owners find enjoyable to watch.  Because of the high heat created by a wood insert some of the internal parts may need replacement over time.

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According to energy management experts, heating a single area of the home to a comfortable temperature and keeping the rest of the home cooler may reduce heating costs.  The main methods of alternative heating are wood-burning, electric and gas.

Gas and wood stoves appeal to different customers for various reasons.  Those who prefer gas like the instant heat, the fact that their is no mess and the ability to control the temperature. Those who prefer burning wood like the ambiance of a real fireplace and typically have access to firewood, a way to haul it and time to gather it.  Some customers will opt for both.

If you want a wood burning insert but are concerned about wood sources, consider getting a pellet stove.

Pellet stoves burn a wood pellets (a renewable fuel made of saw dust and wood chips that are pressed into pellets). Pellet fireplaces are some of the cleanest-burning appliances available and are extremely efficient. Most pellet stoves require a power source to operate the fan and pellet feeder.

Pellets burn longer than wood. You can load the pellets in the morning and the stove will automatically feed itself throughout the day maintaining a set temperature.

Pellet stoves can be vented straight out of a wall the same way as a gas fireplace.

Like wood burning stoves, pellet stoves require a buildup of heat before the temperature will change in the room. But the pellet stove works better for maintaining a consistent temperature then a wood burning stove because the combustion process is controlled by a thermostat.

If you want instant heat at the flip of a switch you should probably go with a gas fireplace.

Pellet stoves do create ash, which will need to be removed, sometimes daily depending on the size and usage level of the stove.

If you have a source for fuel, wood burning stoves or fireplaces can provide the least expensive alternative heat source.

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For many people home heating is one of the largest expenses during the winter.  Most homes use either electricity, oil or natural gas for heating purposes. But perhaps it’s time to take a closer look at using wood as a fuel source.

People have heated their homes with wood for thousands of years, but I’m not talking about building a fire in the middle of your living room.  Wood heating appliances have improved dramatically over the past twenty years, making great improvements in efficiency and the reduction in emissions. A couple decades back, wood burning fireplaces and stoves were huge and not very efficient.  They would eat up wood faster than you could cut it and spew out smoke that would polute the air inside and out. Now, clean burning and highly efficient stoves, fireplaces and furnaces are owner-friendly, neighbour-friendly and environmentally-friendly.  Wood burning stoves and inserts are now legitimate heating options for homeowners.

A few year ago, “airtight” stoves were the best that could be had, but because wood needs air to burn cleanly the airtight stoves would not burn efficiently and produced a lot of smoke. The new “controlled combustion” stoves not only produce less smoke and pollution, but they are also more efficient, burning as much as thirty percent less wood. That’s thirty percent less wood to haul and thirty percent less wood to pay for.

For homes with a fireplace, a wood insert is a good way to turn an energy drain into an efficient source of heat. Fireplace inserts are available that are EPA certified to have the same efficient performance as new wood stoves. For new homes that are just being constructed a pre-fabricated steel fireplace is a great option. They are as efficient as the inserts and stoves and can be built right into a wall without the need for brickwork.

Pellet stoves are another viable heating option, and because of the convenience they offer they are becoming more popular every day. As the name implies pellet stove burn pellets rather than raw wood.  The pellets are made of waste wood and come in various size bags or in bulk.  The pellets are poured into a hopper that is part of the stove and from there are fed into the fire slowly by an electric feeder, providing heat that is steady and controlled thermostatically.

Although pellet stoves may be a little bit more expensive, they do have some great advantages. Because they are so efficient they don’t even require an EPA rating. The pellets are clean and easy to handle and typically they are available in many retail stores. And, they can be controlled by a thermostat so it is easy to maintain an even level of heat.

Besides wood inserts and stoves, wood burning furnaces and boilers designed to heat an entire home are also available.

Another advantage of heating with wood is that instead of spending your heating money on imported oil, coal and natural gas you keep the business in your local area.

Another big advantage to using wood heat is that they are more carbon neutral than fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide as it burns that it would have released anyway as it decomposed after having absorbed carbon dioxide as it grew.

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New homes using modern construction methods are more energy efficient and more air tight than ever before.  In many cases this is a good thing because it keeps the heat in the home and the cold air out, or visa versa in the summer.  Unfortunately a tight home can sometimes cause drafting problems for fireplace inserts. Wood burning fireplace inserts require air to keep a fire burning.  When a fireplace insert is unable to draw sufficient air from the home it will not burn as efficiently and can begin smoking.

Air supply ventilators can be added to help solve this problem.  Air supply ventilators are installed through an outside wall and bring outside air into the combustion chamber of the fireplace insert to provide combustion air for the fire.  That way the fire is consuming outside air rather than pulling inside air and heat into the insert and up the chimney.  The installation and operation of an air supply ventilator can be very simple.  There are no batteries or electrical wiring or ductwork needed.  A ventilator works automatically by taking advantage of the negative air pressure inside the home. It can be opened or shut manually.

Most include an exterior grill and insect screen.  They are made of ABS molded polymer and can be painted with latex paint to match your decor.

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