Energy-Efficient Chimneys: Tips for Better Heating

Along with your annual chimney sweep and inspection from Felgemacher Masonry, using the proper wood in your fireplace can save you in the long run. Let’s discuss how you can run your fireplace more energy-efficiently.

Know Your Damper

Learn to appreciate your damper. It plays a pivotal part in starting your fire and keeping the draft at an acceptable level. Before you start your fire, check to see if the damper is open. By opening the damper, the smoke will go up the chimney and not back into your home. You may adjust it as the fire burns. This may take some experience. Once the fire is stone cold, you should close the damper again. This will keep the heat in your house, not letting it go up and out the chimney. 

Prep the Chimney

After the chimney has sat for a while, sometimes for days, it gets quite cold. Lighting a fire in a cold fire will bring smoke back into the house. By priming your chimney before you light it will help to encourage the smoke to go up the chimney. Roll up a stack of newspaper, light it, and hold it up to the chimney. Let the warm air circulate in the chimney. This will allow a fire to start with smoke going up the chimney without compromise. 

Choose wood wisely

When choosing what type of wood to purchase, always choose seasoned wood. To qualify for seasoned wood, it should have been cut and sat dry for 6 months to one year.  

Type of wood counts

The best wood to burn is hardwood. Choose from oak, hickory, or maple; these will get you the hottest fires. Protecting your chimney from accumulated creosote.

Install glass doors

This is an easy and economical way to preserve the heat from your fire. The fireplace masonry holds the heat for quite a while. As you start to minimize the fire, keep the damper open, but close the glass doors. This will allow heat into the room as the fire cools down.

Temper your wood

When starting a fire, choose wood that is at room temperature. This will allow the fire to start easier. Store enough wood indoors so you don’t have to go out in the cold when wood is needed. 

Using these tips will help you to enjoy an energy-efficient fire throughout the season. Enjoying and taking advantage of the heat that comes along with your fire will allow you many cozy nights as winter is upon us. 

A clean chimney is a safe chimney, and we’ll keep yours as safe and efficient as it can be. Our owners are certified through the Chimney Safety Institute of America – a stringent industry certification held by only the best sweeps in the U.S. We remove flammable creosote from chimney flues, reducing the chance of a chimney fire. We also remove debris and obstructions that could hamper the drafting of smoke and carbon monoxide.