Do You Need a Blower for Your Wood Fireplace?
Whether you’re using a traditional wood fireplace or a wood-burning fireplace insert, a good blower is a must-have. This is especially true for those of us living in the Niagara Falls area, with its damp, cold winters. A fan does wonders to improve your fireplace’s heating capabilities and ensure you remain toasty warm even in the depths of winter.
Why Fans Are Necessary For Wood Fireplaces
In short, a fireplace on its own is only good for heating a single room, and sometimes not even that. A fireplace without a fan will radiate heat in all directions, including areas where you don’t need heating, such as the rear wall behind it. As a result, the area around the fireplace will be warm, but that warmth will quickly diminish as you move away from the fireplace.
Blowers allow the heat to be circulated around the room, or even redirected into other rooms. This puts the heat where you need it, with far less energy waste.
The Practical Side: Noise, Control, and Daily Use
Beyond the basics of thermodynamics, a blower for your fireplace or wood-burning fireplace insert also brings practical improvements to your heating setup. Modern fireplace blowers allow you to find the perfect balance between high-volume heating and the quiet background hum of the fan.
In addition, these systems can have modern thermal sensors installed, which, like an HVAC thermostat, can automatically control the speed of the fan to regulate heat output. This turns your fireplace into a “fire-and-forget” heating option.
ROI and Energy Savings
Installing a fireplace blower does require an upfront investment, but does it pay off? Yes. With a fan installed, you can “zone-heat” your main living areas, which will substantially lower your natural gas or electric bills.
In particular, a high-efficiency wood-burning fireplace insert combined with a high-performance blower will provide excellent cost savings, as well as being a tangible value-add for future homebuyers.
Expert Selection with Stamford Fireplaces
Choosing the perfect blower for your fireplace or insert can be tricky. The fan must be properly sized to provide optimal air circulation. Too much power will be noisy and inefficient, while too little power will result in weak heating and higher fuel costs. In addition, you need a wiring setup that ensures your fireplace doesn’t have unsightly cables strung around it.
Stamford Fireplaces is your Niagara Falls fireplace expert. For over 40 years, we’ve been helping local families find the perfect wood fireplaces and wood-burning fireplace inserts, bringing excellent high-efficiency heating in a beautiful package that will enhance your home’s value.
To learn more, contact us or swing by our showroom to see for yourself.
