Fireplaces - Wood fireplace
Fireplace | Outdoor fireplace | Stone fireplace Fireplace ideas | Wall fireplace | Fireplace inserts | Fireplace insert What are fireplace inserts? Ah, the crackle of a fire in the hearth. There's nothing like a blazing fireplace to create a sense of warmth and comfort. However, there's a major downside to the traditional wood-burning fireplace, whether it's a factory-built fireplace or a masonry fireplace: heat loss . Fireplaces are, by nature, not very efficient. They pull warm air out of the room and into the fire. A lot of that energy -- heat -- is lost up the chimney and through the material that surrounds it. When temperatures drop below freezing, a fireplace exhausts more energy than it creates. The Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association rates older fireplaces' efficiency at 5 percent to 10 percent [source: Kaufman]. Most fir...