Fireplace Inserts and Wood Stoves: Efficiency and Performance for the Modern Home

Considering a fireplace insert or wood-burning stove? We explain the differences and how these units work efficiently to heat your home so you can get the best option for your needs!

Ah, the warmth and charm of a crackling fire on a chilly winter night. For many, the ambiance and heat of a fireplace simply can't be beat. Unfortunately, wood-burning fireplaces can be inefficient, creating not only the need for more fuel to reach the desired heat output but also emitting air pollution in the form of smoke containing carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and other particulates. The good news is that putting in a fireplace insert or wood stove can improve on the performance of a traditional fireplace, helping you get both the efficiency and style you want for your home. If you're considering a wood-burning stove or a wood fireplace insert, here's what you need to know.

Wood stoves and wood-burning fireplace inserts provide you with essentially the same technology for two distinct installation situations. Wood stoves are typically freestanding models, often built atop a hearth for safety and better heat transfer. Fireplace inserts, on the other hand, are a special type of wood stove that goes inside your existing fireplace. The insert completely fills the space and turns a traditional wood-burning fireplace into a more efficient, wood-stove type heating source. In short, the biggest difference between wood stoves and inserts for fireplaces is how/where you install them.

In the past, wood-burning stoves and inserts have been criticized for being inefficient, both in terms of heating and the waste products they emit. But improved technology has been used to design new models that eliminate these issues. Today's stoves and wood-burning fireplace inserts burn at much hotter temperatures than a basic fire. In addition to the obvious benefit of putting out more heat, this enables more complete combustion of fuel and gases and cuts back on the emissions from your chimney. And with integrated blowers and air circulation systems, many of the newest fireplace inserts and stoves distribute heat throughout a space better than before. A modern stove or wood fireplace insert can provide enough heat to keep an entire home comfortable!

On top of the other advancements in stove/fireplace insert technology, alternative fuel sources have been developed as well. Instead of just burning logs, today's inserts and stoves are also available as pellet burning models. Pellet stoves use fuel pellets, often made from compressed sawdust and other organic waste materials like wood chips and bark, to produce heat. Offering efficiency as well as a renewable fuel source, pellet stoves can be freestanding or inserted into fireplaces. Only special pellet wood stoves can use this type of fuel, so it's important to decide whether or not you want to take advantage of the green nature of pellet fuel before you purchase a stove or insert.

Capacity is critical when it comes to putting in a wood-burning insert or stove, so consult with your local fireplace contractors to determine the appropriate size for your heating needs. Too small a unit will leave uncomfortable cold zones in your space while too large a unit can lead to overheating. When homeowners end up with too large a stove or insert, the most common result is keeping the fire burning at a smolder, which will undermine the efficiency of a modern wood-burning system and release more pollution than necessary.

Maria Allen is a home improvement specialist and an Internet marketer for Prospect Genius, using SEO to connect local businesses with more customers.