INCREASE CHIMNEY PERFORMANCE
How to improve the energy efficiency of our fireplace? In this post we tell you some tricks to achieve it.
In these times, with the electricity bill through the skies, the heat of the fireplace becomes even more desirable than normal.
It is not only about enjoying the pleasant feeling of the burning fireplace, but about getting as hot as possible to avoid having to combine the lighting of the fireplace with other heating systems that can be more expensive.
So let’s give you some ideas that can make the fireplace give more calor.
• Keep your fireplace clean
The very use of the fireplace causes it to get dirty and decrease its performance.
Every time we turn on the chimney the cresota, soot and dirt accumulate.
This accumulation minimizes the efficiency of the system, since when less air enters the combustion will be worse and the wood will burn badly.
Doing a chimney sweep, at least once a year, can avoid this basic problem caused by simple use.
Even, depending on the use we give it, we may need a professional cleaning more regularly. As a rule of calculation, if it is lit on regularly, it would be convenient to dismiss between 3,000 and 5000 kg maximum of firewood.
In addition to ensuring maximum heat output, the visit of a professional chimney sweep can avoid more serious problems, because if the outlet were obstructed, for example by a bird’s nest or other element, we would not only have problems of heat reduction, but risks for the safety of the installation would also come into play.
• Use the appropriate fuel
Beyond the maintenance of the chimney itself, the type and quality of fuel we use to light it will also determine the heat that the chimney will give us.
If we want the fireplace to give us more heat, we must use very dry firewood and preferably hardwood, oak, oak or beech type, which are firewood that lasts longer and gives off more heat.
If you want more details about the firewood that heats the most, you may be interested in this post that we have published previously.
When planning the purchase of firewood, keep in mind that the wood contains a lot of moisture and it is advisable to keep it reserved for drying, it is best to store it from one year to the next.
Using wet way, will make the performance of our fireplace go down, since a lot of energy is wasted, by spending the heat of the fire in evaporating the moisture.
• Closes the fireplace and prevents heat loss
One of the ways in which we can get the fireplace to give more heat, is closing the chimney so that the heat does not escape, since traditional chimneys can lose large amounts of heat by not having recovery systems.
In addition, a closed fireplace is much more efficient and safer.
You will avoid problems such as a spark jumping, smoke coming out of the chimney into the room and ensuring lower fuel consumption, by controlling the amount of air that enters.
There are different options of enclosures:
- We can do it simply with some doors, which will concentrate the heat and reduce energy expenditure. While it is true that the glass does not allow to transmit all the heat that the fireplace produces, it is a type of cheap enclosure and some heat we will win, in addition to the convenience of avoiding the exit of smoke to the room.
- Through a cassette that makes the most of heat, it reduces the amount of fuel and distributes heat through the ducts available.
- With an insert, which is a system similar to the cassette but has fans in the lower part of the fireplace that push the hot air up and help distribute the hot air throughout the room, managing to transmit up to 80% of the heat generated.
However, beware, if we talk about how we said at the beginning of reducing electrical costs we have to take into account that some of these systems will require an electrical connection, and therefore they will also spend light.
Well, nothing, if you already have your fireplace set, you just have to enjoy its pleasant heat.