Up The Chimney Goes Your Cash
Posted by jefferson on Dec 26, 2012 in Saving Money | 17 comments
Like many families, we spent Christmas evening huddled around the fireplace watching movies and enjoying some quiet family time. Outside it was frigid and miserable, so the light and warmth of the fire was the perfect way to end the day. There is just something “old school” and endearing about the way that firelight flickers around the room, and the way that the direct heat tingles your toes.
From a cost perspective, you might think that starting a fire in your fireplace will give your furnace a break and save you money on energy costs. There is some truth in this, of course, as throughout nearly all of human history people have used fires to keep themselves and their dwellings warm on cold winter nights. However, if your house has central air and a furnace that has already warmed the air in your home, you may actually be costing yourself a nice chunk of money every time you make a fire.
In order to keep itself burning, any fire is going to need a steady supply of oxygen. By design, the fireplace is going to pull the (already heated) air from your home in order to feed its appetite. Your furnace will then typically replace this warmed air with cold air from outside, which it will need to reheat before distributing through your ventilation system. You can counteract this effect somewhat by lowering the temperature on your thermostat whenever starting a fire, or by shutting it off entirely. Of course, this will have the side effect of dropping the temperature significantly of every room in the house not in the vicinity of the fireplace, and may not be an option if you have small children (as we do). An alternative idea is to crack open a window near the fireplace so that the cold air from outside is used to feed the fire, and your furnace-heated air can stay where it is.
From a pure energy perspective, a good portion of the heat generated from burning the wood will actually head straight up the chimney with the smoke and thus not into your home. Many older homes were built with wood-burning stoves instead of fireplaces, which kept a much larger percentage of the heat from escaping. An option to help with this problem is to install a blower in your fireplace, which has the same effect, but is a bit pricey to install. In the meantime, you should make an effort to best preserve the heat that is generated, and turn on fans or your furnace blower to distribute that heat around your house.
This is a bit obvious, but you should also consider the costs of the wood itself when thinking about how often you spark up the fireplace. If you live in the country, it may be possible to cut and split your own firewood. But for us city dwellers, the cost of wood can easily eclipse $200/year for normal use, which is nothing to sneer at.
In spite of all of this, we will certainly continue to use our fireplace on cold winter nights. To help conserve heat, we always make sure that the flue is closed when the fireplace is not in use. If your forget and leave the flue open, you will likely feel a draft because (heated) air will continue to get pushed up your chimney until the flue is closed. I should also add that it is important to get your chimney swept out every 2-3 years (more if you use your fireplace often), because the buildup of ash and soot can be a major fire hazard.
In the winter time, there are many other things that you can do to save on your energy costs. Keeping the blinds open in the daytime will allow for sunlight to naturally heat your home, and replacing old windows and insulation can make a major difference as well. When the time comes to replace your furnace, new technology has allowed for some major advances in energy efficiency (our furnace is 97% efficient), and most states offer a rebate program that helps cover the additional costs of purchasing one of these Energy Star rated units. In many areas, it is also possible to comparison shop your local energy providers by using a website like MakeItCheaper.com to find the best rates in your area.
Either way, whether you are snuggling in front of the fire or piling on the extra blankets at night, please be sure to keep warm out there during this cold winter holiday season.
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I never really thought much about this but it makes a ton of sense! The warmest place I ever visited was a family that had one of the wood-burning stoves. OMG that thing was amazing and warmed the entire house!
Jason @ WSL recently posted..Easy Baked Salmon Recipe
I love those wood-burning stoves.. But they do take up some space.
In our house, we do love our fireplace, and actually used it tonight. We just have to remember that it is what it is.
But the fireplace is just so relaxing!
My Money Design recently posted..My Stocks with High Dividends Income Report – December 2012
Dude.. We love the fireplace.. I kinda wish that I could keep it fired up all year round.. But obviously that wouldn’t be a smart thing to do.
We had a wood-burning fireplace growing up in Pennsylvania and I remember working on crossword puzzles with my family while the fire kept us warm. The kind of fireplace we had was notorious for venting heated air to the outside and creating drafts of cold air coming from the outside. Modern fireplaces are much more efficient and I have seen some that have built in fans that will return heated air into the room. I still love a fire and hope to have one in my next home!
Paul @ The Frugal Toad recently posted..Ten Financial Lessons I Learned From My Mom’s Overspending
I don’t think that our fireplace is especially efficient, even tho our home is only 25 years old.. But we do try to keep the costs down by being smart about it.
I feel like you are taunting me with this post considering I am in the midst of summer weather and would like nothing more than for it to cool down a little.
I have never had a fireplace and I don’t think I have ever been in a house with one either.
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted..Rescue Pets after Christmas and Help Save a Life
Nice Glen.. I wouldn’t mind a warm Christmas.. Not one little bit. While I do love the fireplace.. I love summertime infinity more.
I love having a fire but realize that it isn’t cost efficient. It’s still fun to snuggle up with the kids in front of a fire though!
Holly@ClubThrifty recently posted..Snowed In…and Succumbing to Lifestyle Inflation
Without a doubt, Holly.. We have had our little ones snuggling next to us by the fire for several nights in a row!
I loved this article! We just bought a house that was built in the 70s and does not have a fireplace. We really would love to get one installed sometime over the next few years. I have also thought about a wood burning stove and the value in having one. I haven’t looked into it too closely, though, but I definitely need to review some of the finances behind it and whether it makes sense. It should add value to the home, but it also will increase our insurance costs. Either way, you can’t beat sitting around the fire on a cold winter night.
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted..Should You Move Home After College?
On a cold night… A warm fire can really just lift your spirits.. In spite of everything I wrote in this article, I am pretty confident that I will insist on my next house having a fireplace as well.
Agree that an old fashioned fireplace won’t heat much and just take warm air right up your chimney. But if you have an insert or wood burning stove you will get a lot of bang for your firewood buck. We have a high-efficiency wood burning insert with blower which I can heat our entire house with (2600 sq ft). The key to real savings for me is to get your firewood for free. I get mine from our 3 acre property and from local forests that allow cutting permits in certain areas. I haven’t paid for wood in 7 years and we never turn on our furnace. Love our fireplace!
Kyle | Rather-Be-Shopping.com recently posted..Online Coupons: Great Tool to Avoid Shopping Debt in 2013
Having land where you can chop your own wood is pretty darn sweet.. And you get a nice workout chopping and hauling all that wood around to boot!
Very good info, I don’t have a wood burning fireplace and have never put much thought to it, but it doesn’t seem as frugal an option as it once did!
Gillian @ Money After Graduation recently posted..AMEX Takes 4%
I miss my wood burning fireplace we had growing up, the smell, the warmth, everything! We had a double sided brick fireplace (it was the ‘wall’ between the living and dining area) with blowers. Within mins of burning the wood or fire log the entire house was warm. It was dirty though…I don’t miss the mess!
Catherine recently posted..Merry Christmas Eve: My Favorite Christmas Eve Memory
Whoa Jeff! I had no idea you were such an HVAC guy.
Unfortunately, I have no fireplace, but I’d love to get one. Especially since the power goes out every few years in the winter. The result is a very cold house that is not liveable. I’d love to have the fire option so leaving the house in a power outage is no longer a necessity.
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