When you see the picture of the perfect American living room in a house, there is a cozy room with a sofa, a recliner and a fireplace that burns beautifully. People love to sit by the fireplace and watch the flames that surround the logs. The fireplace not only adds warmth, but also adds atmosphere. Unfortunately, a fireplace in a house is not perfect. There are many problems that make a fireplace very inefficient.

When a fireplace is lit, it radiates heat into the air around it. But it also creates a draft that actually pulls that air out of your room and up the chimney. So basically the hot air escapes and your fireplace has to work even harder to heat your room. Yes, there is a damper in a fireplace that is supposed to prevent indoor air from escaping and outdoor air from entering. But most are not very well built and the seal around the edges of the shock still allows air to escape.

There are a few things you can do to fix this problem. There is a damper you can buy that mounts to the top of the fireplace. This damper acts like a storm door and has a seal so air can’t get in around it. You can get such a product online and you can install it yourself if you feel comfortable on top of your roof.

Another option you have is to change your wood-burning fireplace for a gas one. You can get a gas fireplace insert that can look just like a regular wood burning fireplace. These heaters have artificial logs that look like they are burning. Depending on your home’s construction and budget, you have several options for how to install and vent your fireplace. Most gas fireplaces use propane or natural gas sources. Many homeowners opt for this type of change because they get tired of having to keep the wood cut and dispose of the ashes. A gas fireplace eliminates that need.

You can also replace your fireplace with an electric heater. There are portable electric heaters that look like fireplaces. You can get an electric fireplace heater that has a fan that can very efficiently heat up an entire room quickly. Electric heaters are very efficient in the way they heat up a room. 100% of the electricity used is converted to heat and returned to the room.

Another drawback is that the fireplace is usually in the room with the thermostat. The room with the fireplace gets very hot and the thermostat turns off the heat. This makes the rooms in the rest of the house cooler because the fireplace does not heat them. This may cause you to look into getting a portable space heater for other rooms in your home.