It’s possible to turn up the heat at the same time as you turn down your fuel costs if you have an energy-efficient fireplace.
“You could certainly save money if you use your old, inefficient furnace less and use your new efficient wood or gas fireplace more,” said Gerry Loewan, a salesman with Gemco Fireplaces in Edmonton.
Loewan cautioned that the savings may not be huge, but nonetheless the difference in fuel costs would be measureable.
“It would depend upon the size of space that you are heating. But if it formerly cost you $1 an hour to heat that room, with an efficient fireplace it could cost you 25 cents per hour for fuel,” he said.
The efficiency rating of the fireplace is important, Loewan said because the older-style wood-burning fireplaces could be 70- to 90-per-cent inefficient and could actually be costing you more in fuel. While only 10 to 30 per cent of the room is heated, the rest of the heat goes up the chimney.
“With the old wood-burning style fireplaces that open to the front, you get the campfire effect with a hot face and a cold back. Those fireplaces are deceiving because your face feels hot but if you listen carefully, you would probably hear the furnace kick on too, even though the fireplace is burning,” Loewan said.
In contrast, a sealed, more efficient fireplace could be rated as high as 95-per-cent efficient, which is comparable to many fuel-efficient gas furnaces.
“It depends on the rating of your furnace. The older ones may have a 50-per-cent efficiency rating but the new furnaces could also be super efficient with a 90- to 95-per-cent rating,” explained John Ellingson, of St. Albert’s Chimney Guys.
Whether to install a wood or gas fireplace is personal choice. But though he sells both, Ellingson said that if fuel efficiency is the main reason for getting a fireplace, he would suggest a gas style.
“Most people who get a wood fireplace like the smell of the wood and the ambience of the wood. But even if you want heat without using your furnace, most people still keep the furnace for backup and for when they are away on holidays. With a gas fireplace, no one has to come over and make sure the fire is lit,” he said.
Nonetheless, Ellingson heats his 4,000-square-foot shop with just one highly efficient wood-burning fireplace.
“It heats the entire shop with one load of wood – probably no more than 12 sticks of wood – per day,” he said.
Pellet-burning stoves are another option for those wishing to reduce heating costs, Ellingson said, but he personally would choose a fireplace over a pellet-burner if energy savings were his main goal.
“Pellet stoves can usually heat a space –perhaps a 1,500-square-foot space – for about $4.50 per day. But a pellet-burning stove is like a small furnace and you still need electricity. With a fireplace, you don’t need electricity, so if for some reason the power goes out, you still have heat,” Ellingson said.
Whether they run on gas or wood, the new energy-efficient models come with thermostats and heat exchangers that can be turned up or down, depending upon the need for heat.
Some people use more than one fireplace to adjust the heat in their home, and that zone-style of heating can also reduce energy costs, said Mario Miles, of Edmonton’s Fireplace and Stove Centre.
“Two years ago a co-worker was paying $350 per month for gas. He put in three wood-burning fireplaces and now his gas cost is just $50 per month. And he’s not burning the ideal kind of wood. He’s burning cheap pallets,” said Miles.
Miles said that his co-worker turns the heat down on his furnace and just heats one area at a time with his wood fireplace. Each zone has its own thermostat.
New energy-efficient wood-burning fireplaces start at about $4,000 whereas gas ones start at about $2,000. Installation costs for both are approximately $1,000. Older wood-burning fireplaces can be converted to gas for about $3,000.
