Can You Save By Using Your Fireplace?
By: Darren Lombardo
If you have a traditional masonry fireplace, then you might as well be burning dollar bills.
Using a masonry fireplace actually removes heated air from your home. Since heat rises and seeks the highest point, heat travels out of the home, right up the chimney even when the damper is closed and the fireplace is not in use. One answer is to not use it and close it off. You can use an inflatable "chimney plug" to do this.
If you insist on having a fireplace, than you can purchase a much more efficient wood or gas insert, which fills the entire opening of a masonry fireplace. This will fill the big gaping hole in your home. Inserts or stoves will appear to lower your heating bill, but it's pretty much a trade; there is still a cost involved using gas or wood.
Overall, the ambiance of having a fireplace is more beneficial than its use as a supplemental heating source, even with the current utility prices. Inserts and stoves are great to have as an alternate heating source should your main heating system fail.