Whilst the weather may be at its hottest outside right now here in Australia, it would be remiss of us not to talk about fireplaces, after all Santa’s going to be seeing a lot of them very soon and you want yours to be the one he talks about with Mrs Claus later over sherry and mince pies.
Fireplaces are often cited as one of the most wished-for things by potential house buyers and it’s easy to see why. Whether you choose a conventional or more contemporary design for your fireplace, it certainly adds charm, character and a focal point to a room, and of course, it’s very cosy in the winter.
As with most things, modern fireplaces have become much more eco-friendly with a view to keeping more of the heat inside the house where it’s needed, rather than losing it through walls and chimneys. Other advances are in the fuel used, with many traditional gas and wood fires being converted into bioethanol.
Courtesy of Napoleonfireplaces.com
Bioethanol is a renewable fuel made from agricultural feedstocks such as corn, potato and sugar cane. Another advantage of bioethanol is that it doesn’t smell so it can be used in a ventless environment so you don’t need a chimney. This makes it a popular choice for homes and apartment where there isn’t currently a chimney. It also means the fire can be placed anywhere inside or outside of the home and freestanding bioethanol fires are also available.
Wood fires and burners will always remain popular, although they are not as environmentally friendly as ethanol, nor as efficient as a percentage of the heat will be lost through the chimney, more if the chimney is placed on an external wall. However, advances in the technology of wood fires and burners means they are now much more efficient than previously.
Open wood fires work by convection and radiation, a metal convection box is heated via the flames which releases the hot air into a room while the flames themselves radiate heat. Wood stoves or burners tend to be slow combustion and can be radiant, convective or a mixture of the two. Wood stoves and burners will burn fuel for longer which means you use less of it, although they don’t have quite the same homely appeal as an open fire.
Gas fires have come on in leaps and bounds in terms of design and can be either ultra-modern or look very much like a traditional open fire with real flames, but without the hassle of having to clean out the fire each day. Modern gas fires are available as either log or pebble fires and have the added benefit of being able to control the temperature of the fire.
Now, where did we put those stockings…
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