Myth: A fireplace provides heat.
Reality: Wood-burning fireplaces do not provide as much heat as they do ambience and beauty. Maximize the warmth of a firepalce by installing a fireback.
Photo Credit: flickr/Lord-helmut
Interior
Fireplace Heating Myths Debunked
by Mark Clement
Will an open fire leave your home more cold and frosty than warm and toasty? Get the true facts on fireplaces before lighting those logs.
View the slideshow above for fireplace heating myths!
As the weather continues to grow colder, picturesque dreams of chestnuts roasting on an open fire may dance in your head. And you're not the only one coveting cozy nights cast under a warm glow.
Unfortunately, in addition to a cozy ambience, fireplaces also elicit concern about safety-hazards, air pollution, inefficient heating properties, and laborious maintenance needs. Not quite the makings of a festive Nat King Cole song.
But do the pros outweigh the cons? Can a wood-burning fireplace really heat your home sufficiently? Are these structures simply a house fire waiting to happen? The key is to decipher the difference between fact and fiction. Plenty of conventional wisdom regarding fireplaces is flat-out wrong, or at least misleading. Here's the truth behind some of the commonly held fireplace misconceptions.
Photo Credit: flickr/Lord-helmut
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Myth: A fireplace operates inefficiently.
Reality: Over a year, a fireplace may passively consume more energy while not in operation due to leaks around the damper than when it's actually in use. Install fireplace doors.
Photo Credit: Fireback.com
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Myth: You can't burn soft wood, like pine, because its pitch creates creosote that will coat the inside of your chimney and increase the possibility of chimney fires.
Reality: According to Ashley Eldridge, Director of Education for the National Chimney Sweep Guild, you can indeed burn pine without making a sticky mess of the chimney.
Photo Credit: Lowe's
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Myth: Unused chimneys don't need inspecting or cleaning.
Reality: The National Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends annual chimney inspection.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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