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The Dangers of Carbon Monoxide

November has begun and that means fall is nearly halfway over. With the inevitable cold weather on the way, most people have retired their shorts and sandals in favor of warmer clothing like jackets and scarves. For homeowners trying to heat their homes as the cool temperatures set in, many have already lit up their fireplaces this season. With the right maintenance done every year, fireplaces can add plenty of life, character and warmth to your home. However, neglecting the fireplace and chimney’s need for an annual sweep and inspection can have disastrous consequences. One dangerous result of poor fireplace care is a deadly gas known as carbon monoxide.

The tiny molecule called carbon monoxide is produced in large quantities anytime combustion occurs. Any fuel burning, therefore, produces carbon monoxide, including gas ranges, car exhausts, wood stoves, and even lanterns. When any type of burning occurs in an enclosed space, the area will experience a rapid rise in concentration of carbon monoxide. You cannot know the relative levels of carbon monoxide without the help of a specialized, functioning detector, because this insidious gas has no scent, color, or taste. Thus, the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning can set in quickly, even before the victim realizes what may be wrong.

Signs of carbon monoxide poisoning include difficulty breathing, dizziness, nausea, and unconsciousness. To ease these symptoms, the person must be moved to an open, outdoor space. The reason carbon monoxide is so dangerous is that it moves more quickly than oxygen and replaces it inside the body. With the levels of oxygen in the body steadily depleting, the above symptoms begin setting in. Without reprieve, the body will suffer organ damage and eventually death.

For good reason, carbon monoxide is a serious threat that must be respected and avoided at all costs. This concerns your fireplace because, every time you light it, carbon monoxide flows freely from it. A properly functioning chimney expels the gas and smoke from the home, but without proper maintenance, this could change. For example, any obstruction in the chimney will cause the gases produced by the fire to back up into the home. An obstruction could be caused by an animal and its nest inside the flue, and this can be easily remedied by a chimney sweep and the installation of a good chimney cap. The chimney can also experience an obstruction through the buildup of creosote, which is a tarry product of burning wood. A chimney sweep can remove this, but if left to build up, it can cause serious problems.

To protect your home and your family from carbon monoxide, all you need to do this season is have an expert out to sweep and inspect your chimney. If you live in the Westhampton Beach area of New York, contact Beach Stove and Fireplace for a professional consultation.

High Efficiency vs. Zero Clearance Wood-Burning Fireplaces

Fireplaces have enchanted homeowners for many years. The allure of a softly crackling fire in the background has made fireplaces a must have for countless home buyers, and thus, many homes now feature them. With the advent of the movement for environment-friendly energy sources, fireplaces have received recent appeal as a practical source of heat, in addition to their aesthetic benefits. Because technology is constantly evolving, homeowners have a wide variety of fireplace styles to choose from. A decision some homeowners must make when looking to add or update a fireplace is installing a high efficiency wood-burning fireplace or a zero clearance fireplace.

A high efficiency wood-burning fireplace provides a suitable heating option for homes with enough space to accommodate them. These fireplaces feature a firebox separated from the interior of the home by a sheet of ceramic, heat resistant glass. Instead of being open to the home, the smoke and toxic gases from the fire are vented directly up through the chimney. The heat from the fire is shuttled into the home through a separate vent above the glass. This air flow construction keeps hazardous fumes from entering the house and keeps precious, heated air from escaping through an open fireplace.

There are a few downsides to a high efficiency wood-burning fireplace though. These fireplaces cost at least double the price of a factory-built inefficient fireplace. While the costs will quickly be made up as a result of heating bill savings, the upfront expense can be hard for some homeowners to manage. Additionally, these fireplaces do take up some space. For tight spaces that do not already have a fireplace in the floor scheme, a high efficiency fireplace may pose some spatial challenges.

On the other hand, zero clearance fireplaces are ideal for small spaces, particularly when installing a fireplace in a room that was not originally designed with a fireplace in mind. Zero clearance fireplaces are special because they can sit almost directly against combustible materials like walls, floors, furniture and wood. Their design includes fire-resistant bricks inside the firebox, so the installation does not require any masonry structures to protect combustibles from the heat of the fire.

The downside of zero clearance fireplaces is that they are generally pretty inefficient. They are almost always made with a traditional open design, meaning the doors are open when the fire is lit and the doors are closed when there is not a fire. An open fireplace with a lit fire allows toxic fumes to seep into the home and expensive, heated air to escape up the chimney. While you may be able to squeeze a zero clearance fireplace into your home, you should not rely on it as an efficient heating source.

If you are ready to add a beautiful new fireplace to your home, get in touch with an expert fireplace provider to help you make the best investment. Contact Beach Stove and Fireplace for a professional consultation on your new fireplace today.

Try a Fireplace Insert for Big Savings

With homeowners everywhere trying to save money on heating costs, many have turned to using fireplaces for zone-heating instead of paying to heat the entire home throughout brutal New York winters. Traditional fireplaces come equipped with a damper that stays closed when the fireplace is not in use and opens when a fire is lit to expel harmful gases. This means whenever a fire is burned to keep the home warm, a significant amount of hot air actually escapes through the chimney along with the smoke. Even when the damper is closed and no fire is burning, the imperfect seal still allows air to leave the home – expensive, furnace-heated air. In order to address this issue, more homeowners have turned to the option of a fireplace insert.

Fireplace inserts consist of a sealed, energy efficient box retrofitted into an existed fireplace. These boxes do not open directly into the home, meaning warm air inside the home will not be wasted through the chimney. Instead of a traditional fireplace, which opens directly into the home, inserts feature a glass pane to keep warm air in the house and a fan to direct the heat from the fire into the house. Fireplace inserts come in vented or vent-less varieties, but most experts recommend having an insert installed with a properly fitted vent to effectively release toxins. In addition, inserts work off an assortment of fuels, but the most common are wood-burning and gas.

Wood-burning fireplace inserts function much the same way as traditional wood-burning fireplaces. The fire still produces the beloved crackling sound and the cozy smell of a wood-burning fire. These inserts can burn up to ten hours before needing additional wood, and wood is a relatively inexpensive fuel averaging under $1,000 per year to heat a home.

Gas fireplace inserts have grown largely in reputation. They burn very efficiently, especially for zone heating, with 65 to 99 percent efficiency. This means gas fires produce very little pollution or smoke, making it safer for your home and the environment. These inserts also produce no ash or toxic creosote, so aside from a yearly checkup, they are very inexpensive to maintain. It is no wonder 70 percent of new heating appliances sold utilize gas fuel.

While the purchase and installation of a fireplace insert runs $5,000 to $6,000, the cost is made up quickly in savings on utility bills. Heating costs will drop by 10 to 40 percent with the addition of a fireplace insert. Note that proper installation of a fireplace insert requires a professional analysis. Oftentimes with older homes, the original fireplace has an unusual size, so retrofitting the insert takes expert precision. If you live in the Westhampton Beach, New York area, call Beach Stove and Fireplace for a professional consultation. These experts will provide you with the best heating options to suit you and your home.