The Wood Fireplace Insert Blog

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How can you use left-over cooking oil, toilet paper rolls, and dryer lint to make your life easier.  Well, believe it or not, there is a valuable use for these items and it not only recycles them and keep them out of the waste cycle, but it also makes your life easier as well.  This is a pretty neat idea for a recycling, self-sufficiency geek like me.

Sue Talbert of annarbor.com recenty wrote an article about creating her own easy to use fire-starters by using items in the home that she would normally throw away any way.  It is a highly creative use and a great idea for making your fireplace easier to use and making use of items you already have on hand and reducing the amount of waste that your household put out.

The full article is here.

I love this idea for the fact that it not only makes use of normally wasted materials but it saves you from spending money on commercial fire-starters as well. A double win!

If you have any great ideas like this feel free to pass them along.

Wood Fireplace Inserts

Technorati Tags: fire starters, recycling, saving money

In many homes, the fireplace is the heart of the house, and when you add a wood fireplace insert, it can also bring you many hours of economic comfort and environmentally friendly warmth?  Wood fireplace inserts are a type of stove that is specifically designed to fit into the firebox of an existing fireplace so that they can use the fireplace flue as the vent.

Why invest in a wood fireplace insert you ask?

Well, a wood fireplace insert will transform a 10% efficient fireplace into a 70-80% efficient wood heater overnight.  Now that’s a major boost in efficiency!  In fact, many air-tight fireplace inserts allow one load of wood to heat a home all night long.  Because of this the insert will end up paying for itself.  Fireplace inserts can achieve sizable payback in 2-3 years just from the money saved on heating bills.  The colder your climate the faster the payback.  Fireplace inserts also eliminate the normal cold air drafts down the chimney as they provide both radiant and convection heat that distributes heat more evenly throughout the entire room.

If you have a gas equipped fireplace, gas-fired inserts are also available. Gas fireplace inserts have a greater output of heat than conventional gas logs and they are designed to be more like a wood-burning insert. Gas inserts provide convenient heat that’s clean, easy to use and safe for the whole family to use. All you have to do is turn it on and sit back and enjoy the fire and warmth.

When installing a new hearth appliance be sure to have your chimney and venting systems inspected by a Certified Chimney Sweep before the installation process begins.

Wood Fireplace Insert

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Here is a recent press release that has some interesting information about using government incentives to help cover the cost of installing a new, more efficient fireplace insert.

Tax Credit Allows Homeowners to Stay Warm and Save Cold Cash On Lennox Hearth Products

Up to $1,500 now available for purchase, installation of energy-efficient wood and pellet Stoves, fireplaces or fireplace inserts

Orange, CA (Vocus/PRWEB ) February 2, 2010 — Providing taxpayers with incentives to make homes more energy efficient is a key portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the federal government recently issued clarifying guidelines on how the legislation affects homeowners who purchase a 75 percent efficient wood- or pellet-burning stove, fireplace or fireplace insert. When homeowners purchase and install qualifying hearth products during 2009 and/or 2010, including many from Lennox Hearth products, they can receive a 30 percent tax credit for costs incurred, up to $1,500.

Energy efficiency is a key component of the Stimulus Plan, as it provides incentives to homeowners who purchase high-efficiency, alternative energy heating sources such as wood or pellet stoves and fireplace inserts. These products provide potential energy savings to the American homeowners while also benefiting the environment

The fireplaces, stoves and inserts available today are definitely not your grandpa’s wood stove
When you add the tax credit on top of cleaner emissions, increased efficiency, the opportunity to zone heat your home and the desirability of using renewable fuels to reduce your carbon footprint, it just makes good sense for homeowners to consider the benefits of investing in a wood or pellet heating products

“Energy efficiency is a key component of the Stimulus Plan, as it provides incentives to homeowners who purchase high-efficiency, alternative energy heating sources such as wood or pellet stoves and fireplace inserts. These products provide potential energy savings to the American homeowners while also benefiting the environment,” said Wendy Howells, vice president and general manager of Lennox Hearth Products (LHP). “Wood- and pellet-burning stoves, fireplaces and inserts are cost effective and can help homeowners utilize zone heating to further save on their home-heating costs. A good example of zone heating is when a stove is used to heat the kitchen and great room during the day. Then rooms such as formal living rooms, dinning rooms and bedrooms, which families use less frequently during that time, can be maintained at lower temperatures, saving money.”

Wood and pellet stoves offer additional environmental benefits as a home-heating option since the fuel sources they use are renewable, as opposed to natural gas, oil, propane or electricity. The new legislation means homeowners who are dedicated to living in a way that reduces their environmental impact are now being rewarded with a significant tax credit to help their efforts.

“The fireplaces, stoves and inserts available today are definitely not your grandpa’s wood stove,” said Howells. “Lennox Hearth Products has more than 20 different models that qualify for the tax credit and they complement virtually any home interior, from traditional to contemporary to rustic.

“When you add the tax credit on top of cleaner emissions, increased efficiency, the opportunity to zone heat your home and the desirability of using renewable fuels to reduce your carbon footprint, it just makes good sense for homeowners to consider the benefits of investing in a wood or pellet heating products,” added Howells.

An Official Manufacturer’s Certificate, which homeowners can use when preparing tax returns, is available to customers at www.lennoxhearthproducts.com. While neither the certificate nor a product sales receipt is required for submission to the government, homeowners are encouraged to retain both for their tax records.

About Lennox Hearth Products:
Offering a diverse family of products for every style and budget, Lennox Hearth Products (LHP) is a leading manufacturer of indoor and outdoor fireplaces, fireplace inserts, free-standing stoves, gas log sets, accessories and venting products for the specialty retail, residential new construction and industrial markets. LHP, based in Orange, California, is a business unit of Lennox International Inc. (NYSE: LII). Through its subsidiaries, LII is a global leader in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration markets. More information about LHP can be found at www.lennox.com.

Source: PRWeb

Information on Wood Fireplace Inserts

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With the Holiday rush quickly coming to an end now may be the best time to buy a wood fireplace insert.

Many dealers may be looking to bolster sales for the end of the year.  Others may need to move out older models to make room for new ones.  Also, with retail sales in the shape they are many dealers are discounting much further than normal.  Plus you get the benefit of lowering your heating costs.

This is also somewhat off-season now that we are part way through the winter.  It will likely be easier to schedule installation.  All in all if you have been thinking of adding the benefits of a wood fireplace insert to your home now is probably a good time to start checking around.

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As with any other human activity, heating with wood can be done poorly or well.  Wood can be harvested badly, burned dirty with most of the heat wasted or it can be harvested in a sustainable way, burned in a clean, efficient manner with the energy used in a way that reduces  greenhouse gas emissions.

Obviously, we are all for the latter approach and you will find support for your efforts here – to use wood well. There are a lot of misconceptions about wood heating – hopefully we can help clear some of them up.  You’ll get a balanced view of the benefits of heating with wood.

Regardless of the energy source you choose, it will have an impact on the environment. The best energy sources are the ones that are renewable and the best are solar power and wind power since their environmental impacts tend to be the lowest. They do still have their problems and limitations however. Wood is another energy source that is renewable and it too has its problems and limitations.  Some of these can be managed and minimized, others cannot. But when used effectively, wood is a very good fuel compared to the alternatives like oil, gas and coal.

Wood Fireplace Insert

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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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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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The problem with traditional brick fireplaces is most of the heat goes up the chimney.  Have you ever had a roaring fire in the fireplace and wondered why the room is freezing?   The fireplace is actually working against you.  The heat radiates a few feet into the room, and then gets sucked back into the fireplace. 

A fireplace does not control the burn. The only control is based on the wood that is put in the fireplace.  Because of this an open fireplace burns harder and faster and Seventy-five percent or more of the heat is lost up the chimney

The beauty of a wood fireplace insert is that it makes an existing fireplace much more efficient.

Installing a wood fireplace insert makes a good investment.  Depending on the size and type a fireplace insert can cost from $1,200 for a small basic model to $3,500 for a large, top-of-the-line insert before installation.

A wood fireplace insert is an insulated, closed-door system which gives you more control over the combustion process. Heat is radiated through the glass and stays in the room rather than being sucked up the flue.

A fireplace insert not only increases the efficiency of a fireplace but it also helps protect air quality by reducing emissions and provides multiple fuel options (such as wood, pellet, coal, corn, natural gas and propane) that are cost efficient. 

A wood-burning insert, provides a much cleaner and complete burn than an open fireplace.  When wood is burned in a regular fireplace, 150 grams or more unburned particulate matter is released into the air, whereas a wood-burning insert releases only 3 or 4 grams per hour.

In a closed-door system the smoke becomes another fuel and is burned in secondary combustion which increases the efficiency. It improves the air quality while increasing the heat in the home.

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Some people suffer from breathing problems in the winter time.  Some if these problems are caused by smoke from wood burning fireplaces.  It doesn’t have to be this way.  Old fashioned conventional fireplaces can put out a lot of smoke, especially if one is not careful about what is being burned.  Green wood can put out a lot of smoke as can wet wood.  A fire that has a poor draw will tend to smolder and put out a lot of smoke. Burning trash can also produce smoke and toxic gas, depending on what it being burned.

If you have a conventional fireplace you should seriously consider installing an EPA Certified fireplace insert. If not for yourself, do it for your neighbors.  An EEPA Certified fireplace insert can cut the emissions coming from your chimney by as much as ninety percent or more to the point where you will hardly see any smoke coming from the chimney.  In some areas there are actually codes that require smoke coming from a chimney not exceed a certain amount of opacity (density).  A fireplace insert can help you achieve this.

The new EPA Certified fireplace inserts create a dual burning process that not only helps the wood burn at the best temperature and rate of burn to burn most efficiently, but it also re-burns the smoke and gas coming from the fire so that most of the smoke and emissions are consumed by the fire, leaving less to come out of your chimney and in fact consuming less wood over time because of the slower more efficient burn.  Converting to a certified insert makes good sense for everyone, especially if you live in an area where air quality is a regular problem.

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