Make Fireplace Safe, More Efficient / Get Chimney Checked and Be Careful What You Burn

There's nothing better than snuggling up to a crackling fire on a chilly day or a cold winter's night.

Unfortunately, most fireplaces are energy inefficient and a poor way to heat a home. The average fireplace has a heating efficiency of about 10 percent, which means about 10 percent of the heat warms the surrounding space. Fireplace inserts and energy efficient wood stoves can, however, be exceptionally good sources of heat, although much of the ambiance is lost.

There's more bad news on the fireplace front as studies by the Environmental Protection Agency show that wood smoke produces carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds - pollutants that are potentially damaging to one's health and our environment.

The good news is that there are several steps you can take to reduce the threat that your fireplace may pose to the environment and at the same time improve its safety and efficiency.

The heating efficiency of a fireplace depends on two factors: how completely it burns the firewood (combustion efficiency) and how much of the fire's heat gets into the room. Greater combustion efficiency equals less pollution.

The heating efficiency of a fireplace depends on its construction or installation (in the case of modern prefabricated zero-clearance metal units) and the way in which it is operated.

The first step to having a healthy fireplace is to burn the right fuel. Never burn garbage, plastics, foil, coated paper, or painted or chemically treated scrap wood. In addition to causing an unfavorable build-up of potentially explosive material on the interior of the firebox and chimney, these produce noxious fumes. .

Burn only a mixture of seasoned hardwoods, such as maple or oak, and softwoods, such as fir and pine.

When starting a fire, use softwoods. They ignite easily and burn rapidly with a hot flame. Hardwoods provide a longer lasting fire and are best used after pre-heating the chimney. If hardwoods are unavailable, you can control your fire's burn rate by using larger pieces of wood.

Seasoning allows moisture in wood to evaporate. Forty-four percent more heat can be generated from a seasoned log. A clean burning fire is a hotter fire with good drafting conditions that produce cleaner combustion and less smoke from the chimney.

The next step is to have your chimney inspected by a professional chimney sweep annually and, if necessary, cleaned of soot and creosote, a chemical substance that forms when wood burns. It is the heavy creosote build-up that becomes highly flammable and often results in explosive chimney fires.

According to the National Chimney Sweep Guild, a national trade association for chimney sweeps, an annual visual inspection is all that is required for most chimneys.

If a visual inspection is not adequate, many chimney sweeps are now equipped to do more elaborate inspections with a video camera and monitor referred to as a "chimscan." The chimscan will reveal more about the chimney's condition, which is especially important when the integrity of the flue is in question because of age or damage.

Finally, as part of the inspection and cleaning, the chimney sweep will check on dampers and spark arresters. Frequently, these will either not exist or be in need of replacement.

The damper is a steel or cast-iron door that opens or closes the throat of the firebox into the flue. It regulates draft and prevents the loss of heat up the chimney.

The spark arrester is a cage-like device secured to the top of the chimney. It prevents sparks and ash from escaping and causing a fire on the roof . It will also keep squirrels, birds and raccoons from nesting in the chimney. The nesting materials can cause a serious safety hazard and animal droppings can transmit diseases.

ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO

Originally published by For The Associated Press.

(c) 2008 Richmond Times - Dispatch. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.