With all of the environmental issues, the fireplace has lost a little of its glamor, but it still is a favorite spot for many. Sitting in front of the warmth of a fireplace, brings back many treasured memories for a lot of people. The fireplace has many benefits for your home, but there are also a few major downsides that need to be fixed. With energy costs elevating so quickly, your fireplace needs to be a source of heat, not one of inefficiency. When a fire is burning, it may give warmth to those standing near it, but it can actually pull warm air out of the room, making your furnace work even more. When there is no fire, a damper is supposed to regulate the airflow. Unfortunately, dampers have a very inefficient seal, so cold air gets in, and warm air goes out.

What most homeowners don’t know about their fireplace is that it doesn’t do what they think it is doing. Instead of saving resources, and heating costs, it is usually adding hundreds of dollars of energy expense. There is a way to take your inefficient fireplace, and remake it into a heat generating system that your budget will love. There are at least four simple things that you can do to fix up your fireplace. These will make your fireplace far more efficient, and lower your heating bills.

The 1st thing that must be done is to replace the damper with a top sealing damper. This type of damper is installed at the top of the chimney, and acts like a storm door. It will keep the inside air from coming out, and the outside air from going in, and works in hot weather or cold. The product is easy to install, and can be purchased online. A second thing you’re able to do is to place a fire-back at the back of your fireplace. This is a cast iron plate that is designed to add to the room decor, while protecting the back wall from damage due to the fires. The fire-back takes the heat from a fire, and radiates the heat back into the room, improving the efficiency of the fireplace.

Next thing that will help is a fireplace heater, which heats the room air that is being circulated through a chamber, and blows it back into the room. These heaters are closed systems, so no smoke is released, and they can really make a difference in the temperature of your house. The fourth thing that you can do is to install glass doors, which might be your biggest expense. Searching around, you should be able to find a good deal, and with instructions, you can install them yourself. These doors form a barrier between the chimney and living space, not only making the area less for the furnace to heat, but also offering protection.

All these suggestions are easy to do, and the products can be found online. Keep your fireplace, save money and lower heating bills by making it more efficient.

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