As the winter chill sets in, a lot of homeowners wonder about their best alternative for heating their home. What is the most effective type of heater? What is the most affordable heating method? Can a fireplace really heat your entire house?

Some people labour under the misapprehension that a fireplace does not heat your home effectively, but instead sucks all the warm air and sends it up the chimney or flue. This is not true!

It is true that an open hearth, wood-burning chimneyed fireplace has its limitations but is great for heating a room or open area, with the right fireplace choice, heating your entire home with a fireplace is perhaps the most effective, efficient, environmentally sustainable, and budget-friendly method of cold weather climate control.

Heating Your Home With a Fireplace

Fire-based heating has been used throughout the world in one form or another for hundreds of thousands of years, and it is only in the last fifty years that fireplaces in homes were abandoned for electric heaters, air conditioners, and other types of heating.

Yet there is nothing quite like a fireplace to not only warm your home but also create a cosy, inviting ambience!

The most effective, efficient way to heat your entire home:

1. Wood Burning Stoves or enclosed fireplaces burn wood efficiently, create little ash and debris, and generate plenty of heat. Many have variable air control which enables adjustment of the heat intensity to your home’s interior conditions and your comfort level.
2. Gas Fireplaces can be highly efficient and the right model for your home can heat the entire house if your space is not too large and the fireplace features ceramic glass as opposed to tempered glass. A thermostat is important for variable heat control.
3. A Pellet Stove can also efficiently heat your home.

Tips for Choosing the Right Fireplace to Heat Your Entire House

1. You need to understand that:
   • An open-hearth fireplace (without sealed doors) will heat a room or single zone but not an entire house.
   • Tempered glass gas fireplaces heat only a room or zone.
   • Decorative wood fireplaces without air control can only effectively heat a room. The same is true for an electric fireplace (like a space heater).
2. The right fireplace to heat your entire home will depend on the size and floorplan of your house. Your home’s insulation, window arrangement, and location’s climate will also impact your decision.
3. The more centrally located your fireplace, the better heat distribution you’ll achieve throughout your home. Since heat rises, if you have a multilevel home, locate your fireplace on the lower level.
4. For the highest efficiency, burn seasoned wood – and never burn non-wood products.
5. Keep your chimney or flue clean to maximise airflow to your fire.

While an entire home can be fireplace-heated, the room in which the fireplace is situated will be much warmer than those further away.

Your very best course of action is to consult with the leading industry experts to help you identify the perfect fireplace to suit your home, your budget, and your heating goals.

Warm-Up in Style with Fireplace Masters

Discover the many benefits of heating your home with a fireplace this winter at Fireplace Masters. Our extensive range of stylish fireplace products from leading brands is guaranteed to provide you with the perfect fireplace type and design to suit your home’s décor and heat your home exactly as you desire. There is no more appealing, cost-efficient alternative than the right fireplace – and even better, Fireplace Masters offers our professional, gold-standard installation service so that you will be able to enjoy your new fireplace quickly and without fuss.

Explore your options with us! Visit our showroom today at 2/30 Shaban St, Albion Park Rail, NSW to view our range and have a chat about the ideal fireplace to suit the size of your house and your vision for your home.

Discover more, contact us online today, or call us on (02) 4257 5493 for a measure and quote. We look forward to meeting you.