What are the types of fireplaces?
When choosing a suitable fireplace, your expectation of the model is crucial. With a fireplace stove, you quickly generate heat in the room at cold temperatures and get a cozy atmosphere. A permanent fire or workshop stove, on the other hand, achieves a higher heat output. Thus, these stoves are ideal for efficiently heating larger areas, your entire house or apartment. In addition to these options, there are also gas fireplace stoves that you can operate at the touch of a button and that offer a great view of the flame thanks to their typical open design.
Does a fireplace save heating costs?
Triggered by rising energy prices, many homeowners are looking for an inexpensive heating method. Fireplace stoves are particularly economical in this regard, as the models are less expensive and can also be heated with the inexpensive fuel wood. You can save up to 50 percent on heating costs with a wood-burning stove. Optimally, you connect your water-bearing fireplace stove to the central heating system. In this way, your fireplace generates heat and also feeds hot water into the heating circuit. This allows you to completely replace other heating methods during the transitional seasons. A fireplace made of fireclay (heat-retaining stone) retains heat for a long time and releases it evenly into the room. So by choosing the right fireplace, there are also opportunities to save money!
What to look for when heating with a fireplace?
Use only suitable fuel for your fireplace. When heating with wood, you should make sure to use modern wood-burning systems that are energy-efficient as well as low-emission and comply with the legal limits. This applies, for example, to systems that have been awarded the "Blue Angel" environmental label. Likewise, a specialist should inspect and maintain your combustion system annually, for example, to prevent a chimney fire. To offset carbon dioxide emissions and make heating more climate-friendly, wood from local forests is ideal for your fireplace.
What fuel is suitable for heating with the fireplace?
For heating your fireplace, you can use different materials. Decisive for your choice should be the following criteria: Environmental friendliness, burning time, cost. Firewood is ideal because it is a renewable resource that is easy to light and provides a particularly cozy atmosphere with quiet cracking sounds when burning. However, firewood offers a lower calorific value than, for example, coal or wood briquettes and also requires a lot of space for storage. Especially since many types of wood need to be stored dry for several years before they can be used for heating. In addition, wood is rather unsuitable for continuous operation of your stove, as it burns down quickly and you therefore have to constantly replenish it.
Due to the production process, wood briquettes have a significantly lower water content than firewood. As a result, they offer you a higher calorific value. In addition, the small briquettes produce much less ash and require less storage space for storage. Although more difficult to ignite, but with a longer burning time are hardwood briquettes.
Coal is primarily suitable for endurance furnaces, as they require an air supply coming from below.
With these fuels you can heat your fireplace:
- Firewood
- Wood briquettes and wood pellets
- Lignite briquettes
Combine wood and coal briquettes for an optimal and long-lasting heating result. Use the wood for kindling and save the constant refilling by maintaining the temperature in the fireplace with coal briquettes.
What fuels should be avoided when heating with the fireplace?
On the other hand, do not use treated or painted wood, chipboard or plywood as fuel for your fireplace. Only burn untreated and dry wood. Follow the rule of thumb: the residual moisture in the wood must be less than 25 percent. This is the only way to avoid a lot of smoke and ash.
How to properly light the fireplace?
Besides the quality of fuel, correct lighting is important. Because this will guarantee you a safe use of your fireplace and also an optimal burning time. Follow our instructions, then the lighting of your fuel will work safely.
In general, you should check your fireplace for cracks and open all air dampers before heating. For kindling, instead of paper, it is better to use kindling blocks or logs, as they burn more slowly and thus provide longer for the actual fuel to ignite.
How to light your fireplace with wood:
- Stack the firewood. Make sure that air can circulate between the logs. Because the fire needs air to develop well. Layer large logs at the bottom, ideally two pieces parallel to each other. On top of these, lay two more, larger pieces of wood crosswise. Now place smaller logs on top.
- Use an eco lighter. Place them on your stack.
- When the stack is burning, close the vents to regulate the air supply.
How to light your fireplace with wood briquettes:
- Before lighting, break the wood briquettes into individual slices or small pieces.
- Fill the firing chamber about halfway with the pieces.
- Close the upper draft and open the lower draft completely.
- Place lit kindling or already burning wood chips under the briquettes.
- Once the briquettes are burning, you can open the upper draft and half-close the lower.
How to light your fireplace with coal briquettes:
- Place sufficient wood chips and additionally several kindling in the combustion chamber.
- Place on them two to three briquettes of wood.
- Fully open the lower air supply.
- Light the lighters as well as the wood briquettes.
- Once the briquettes are fully ignited, you can slightly reduce the air supply.
Risks and dangers of fireplaces for indoor air
Both the improper or incorrect use of stoves and chimneys and a lack of fireplace equipment can lead to significant air quality pollution: inside and also outside the home. In addition to regular maintenance, proper lighting and correct disposal of ashes are equally important. Open fireplaces in particular pollute the indoor air heavily with their emissions and, as an open fireplace, pose an increased fire hazard.
In addition to the increased fire hazard, the deterioration of air quality caused by a chimney should not be underestimated. Because if a wood stove has not yet reached operating temperature, the combustion process cannot always run completely and optimally. One reason for this may be that not enough oxygen is supplied to the process. Large amounts of soot or particulates and carbon monoxide can be produced in the process.
During the regular operation of a fireplace, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide (CO₂) are also produced in large quantities; sulphur oxides, hydrocarbon compounds and other substances such as formaldehyde can also be formed. In addition to these air pollutants that are hazardous to health, other substances such as methane or nitrous oxide are produced, which also damage the climate.
If the air quality decreases, this can have an effect on your well-being: headaches, malaise and a drop in concentration and performance are the result.
Here is what you should pay attention to when heating with a fireplace
To ensure that your indoor air is healthy and safe despite your fireplace, pay attention to the following criteria when lighting the fuel and heating your fireplace:
- light the fuel according to the product description
- allow the fire to breathe and avoid overfilling the fireplace
- Add new wood in good time, this reduces the development of smoke
- control the quality of your indoor air with an air analyser: the air-Q measures air pollutants such as particulates, carbon monoxide or ozone and reliably analyses the air quality - for your health and safety.
Pollution & Air Quality Monitoring
Although smoke detectors are compulsory in most homes, they do not sound an alarm in the event of carbon monoxide (abbreviated CO). The colourless and odourless gas is produced by incomplete combustion processes and is highly toxic. In high concentrations, it quickly leads to carbon monoxide poisoning and can cause unconsciousness or even death. For this reason, it is worthwhile to place carbon monoxide detectors such as the air-Q in the home. Especially in rooms where there is a fireplace. This way you will be warned in good time of high concentrations of the air components.
Particularly PM₂,₅ particulates particles, because they are very small and light, remain in the air longer and are more easily inhaled. They penetrate deep into the body and can thus cause cardiovascular diseases. The carbon dioxide emitted during combustion, on the other hand, causes headaches and fatigue, among other things. At 1,400 ppm at the latest, it is urgent to ventilate.
A precise air measuring device such as the air-Q helps you to track the pollutant load in your indoor spaces in detail and to keep everything in view. If the respective limit values are exceeded, you will be informed and can take action at an early stage.
Note: In the coming week we will start a practical test with the air-Q and measure which air components change when heating with a fireplace. You can find out the results here in our air-Q Lab.
(Cover photo: Shutterstock / New Africa)
