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MN Renovator · 11-17-10, 03:53 PM

I'm a little lost when it comes to the idea of a fireplace cooling a house. I suppose if its a bad design that would be the case but I grew up in a house and we used a fireplace quite a bit.

Normally the furnace would be running if we didn't have a fire but on the weekends or whenever we were home to tend a fire it was pretty normal to start a fire and have it going for most of the day. The fireplace had an air inlet that allowed the outside air in and there was a blower installed above the firebox blowing behind the vent pipe into the room. It kept an entire 2 story house up to temperature on days under 0f/-15c. If it was warmer than that we had to be careful because the size of the fire could actually make the house uncomfortably hot.

It was a cheap way to heat the house because we found wood to chop and there was an instance where severe wind took down many trees and we collected wood left at the roadside(with permission) when they began the curbside program for fallen wood so it worked great.

Works great for low or no cost heating depending on where and how the wood is collected, not the eco-choice though as burning wood to heat a house inefficient and highly polluting.

11-17-10, 03:53 PM	#12
MN Renovator Less usage=Cheaper bills Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 939 Thanks: 41 Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts	I'm a little lost when it comes to the idea of a fireplace cooling a house. I suppose if its a bad design that would be the case but I grew up in a house and we used a fireplace quite a bit. Normally the furnace would be running if we didn't have a fire but on the weekends or whenever we were home to tend a fire it was pretty normal to start a fire and have it going for most of the day. The fireplace had an air inlet that allowed the outside air in and there was a blower installed above the firebox blowing behind the vent pipe into the room. It kept an entire 2 story house up to temperature on days under 0f/-15c. If it was warmer than that we had to be careful because the size of the fire could actually make the house uncomfortably hot. It was a cheap way to heat the house because we found wood to chop and there was an instance where severe wind took down many trees and we collected wood left at the roadside(with permission) when they began the curbside program for fallen wood so it worked great. Works great for low or no cost heating depending on where and how the wood is collected, not the eco-choice though as burning wood to heat a house inefficient and highly polluting.