If you’re looking for a way to update your old fireplace to make it more convenient, efficient, and attractive, a fireplace insert may be your best option. But what exactly is a fireplace insert, and what benefits can one bring to your home? This quick and easy guide has all you need to know.
What Is a Fireplace Insert?
A fireplace insert is a self-contained heating unit that can be installed in your existing fireplace. It is designed to provide the same aesthetic qualities, ambiance, and heating capability as your standard fireplace but with fewer drafts, fewer emissions, and even more efficiency. Fireplace inserts can run on wood, wood pellets, gas, or electricity.
The Benefits of Fireplace Inserts
There are many great reasons to consider installing a fireplace insert in your old fireplace. Here are just a few of them.
Greater Efficiency
Your old fireplace may be able to produce heat, but it also pulls warm air from your home up through the chimney flue. Fireplace inserts reduce or remove the draft entirely and allow the fire to burn more slowly without the loss of heat, leaving you with a far more efficient means of warming your home.
Environmental Benefits
A fireplace insert can help you reduce your impact on the environment by reducing the amount of emissions you’re creating to heat your home. Make sure to look for an EPA-certified option if this factor is high on your priority list.
Increased Savings
The improved efficiency offered by a fireplace insert doesn’t just mean a warmer home. It also means that you’ll be saving money on your utility bills. Sure, you’ll have to pay up front for your fireplace insert, but it won’t be long before you’ve recouped that money and then some with how much the insert will save you monthly.
Attractive Look
Fireplaces aren’t strictly about heating your home. They’re also about the aesthetic qualities and ambiance they offer. Updating your old fireplace with a fireplace insert can improve your home’s appearance while continuing to provide you with that warm and comforting feeling a glowing fire provides.
The Different Types of Fireplace Inserts
The main difference between the four kinds of fireplace inserts is the way they are powered. Each type of fuel has its own advantages and potential drawbacks, so the best option for you depends on your personal preferences.
To get a better idea of which style of insert best meets your needs, take a look at what each has to offer.
Wood
Replacing your traditional fireplace with a wood-burning fireplace insert can help you preserve that cozy classic wood fire feel while improving the efficiency of your unit and reducing your wood use. It can also be useful if you’re looking to avoid the use of gas or electric power in your home.
However, these inserts do still create smoke and soot, which means there is more cleaning involved than with some other options.
Wood Pellet
Wood pellet fireplace inserts are pretty similar to wood-burning ones, but instead of regular wood, they use specially designed pellets made from wood. The pellets can be stored inside the insert and dispensed as needed, providing an added level of convenience.
Gas
A gas fireplace insert runs on your home’s gas line and can be turned on instantly with the press of a button. This option removes all the soot and smoke and prevents your chimney from sucking up warm air while providing plenty of efficient heat.
Gas inserts are designed to provide much of the same look and feel of a traditional fire, as well, so you won’t lose much of that cozy ambiance.
Electric
An electric fireplace insert is designed to look just like a roaring fire in a traditional fireplace, only the wood and coals are imitations and the light of the flame and the heat it produces are both electrically powered. These options are easy to install and cost-effective, and they don’t require ventilation.
Fireplace Inserts From Koval Building Supply
Do you want to learn more about fireplace inserts and all the benefits they can bring to your home? Contact Koval Building Supply today, and we’ll be happy to answer all of your questions.
