Rick Atwood says the decision to add a wood-burning fireplace insert to his Monroeville home was an easy one.
"I had a fireplace that wasn't doing the heating I wanted," he says about the installation that he estimates has reduced his gas bill from $350 to $60 a month.
He is part of an increase in sales of fireplace inserts and efficient wood-burning stoves. Inserts are enclosed, steel burn units that fit into a fireplace and are vented through a steel pipe running up the chimney. Stoves are made generally of steel, cast iron or stone and are vented through a pipe that runs out the wall and up the side of the home.
Dealers say 2005's hurricanes and storms, accompanied by fears of natural gas and propane shortages, stoked the interest in inserts and stoves
Jim Walnoha, owner of Ed's Woodshed with stores in Scott and Pine, agrees with other dealers that was a "panic year."
This year, business is "nice and steady," he adds, with customers researching what they need and shopping more reasonably.
"Last year, people just came in and wanted anything with wood," says John Shepherd from Fireplace Concepts in Jeannette, Westmoreland County.
Leslie Wheeler from the Virginia-based Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association says manufacturers' deliveries of fireplace inserts increased 134 percent in the year leading to June 2006. Wood stoves were up 44 percent.
Similarly, insert sales were up 60 percent as compared to a 24 percent increase in stove sales in the 12 months ending in June 2005
Dealers in this area report similar interest.
- Tyffanee Hall, manager of Hall's Pool & Fireplace in Lower Burrell, Westmoreland County, says inserts make up about 70 percent of the trade between the two.
- Similarly, Shepherd says inserts account for more than 60 percent of his sales because the fireplace-oriented homes in this area "give you a place to put them."
- Walt Sedlock from House to Home Fireplace & Grille Shoppe in Monroeville says the proliferation of fireplaces makes this an area that can suffer from the flue. Warmth escaping through a fireplace makes some hearths "heat-neutral" while stoves and inserts can sometimes make a whole house warm.
Warming up to efficiency
Rick Atwood and Frank Cigich, of Penn Township, Westmoreland County, both have found their inserts to be efficient heat-makers.
Atwood says he keeps his burning 24 hours a day in his great room, and that generates enough warmth to heat the whole three-bedroom home.
Cigich doesn't use his that much, but says he had it burning for the entirety of a recent chilly weekend. The constant heat drifted from the family room to warm the level above it.
"It gets toasty in here," he says.
Both talk with enthusiasm about the burning process of the fuel-efficient inserts.
"Every five days, I clean out the ash," Atwood says. "And that's with burning it all the time."
Wheeler from the hearth-industry association talks about efficiency as one of the best aspects of stoves and inserts.
A report from the federal Environmental Protection Agency calls wood smoke "a waste," adding that anything that "escapes from your woodstove unburned is wasted fuel."
Wheeler says rules on emissions passed in 1990 make stoves and inserts "completely different animals" that are cleaner burning than what they were in the past. New units must be certified, she says, meaning they produce fewer than 7.5 grams of smoke an hour compared to 42 grams produced by older equipment.
Sedlock says that sort of efficiency is one of the reasons for the popularity of the two types of heaters. He explains the ratings of 70 to 80 percent means they turn wood into heat with little waste.
"Fireplaces have maybe 10 percent efficiency," he says. Then he considers heat that is lost up the chimney and adds: "Maybe they are even at zero efficiency."
But those chimneys make inserts popular in this area, the dealers say.
An older housing stock in Western Pennsylvania means many homes have chimneys, making the choice between the two types of burners easy.
"There's already a place to put one," Shepherd says.
They work better in the rooms, too, Hall adds, because they "end up taking up no space."
The one that fits the best
The decision on the type of stove usually is obvious, dealers say,
"You wouldn't put a stove in a room that has a fireplace," Sedlock says.
The two units operate with about the same efficiency, meaning wood use and cleaning are about the same.
Because of that efficiency, both types of devices can have long burn times. Shepherd, for instance, talks about how it is common to load a stove with as few as three logs, shut down the venting and have it burn for seven or eight hours.
That can keep a home warm overnight or when residents are off at work.
Appearance can become an issue, dealers agree. In rooms suited for stoves, soap-stone models can be chosen because they are more attractive than cast iron or steel.
"They can be like a piece of furniture," Sedlock says.
But there is another issue, they say. Soap -stone stoves take a while to heat up, so if one isn't kept warm, the heating process takes longer to begin. But they can hold heat for a long time and quickly increase the temperature in the room.
Costs, too, are rather close. Stoves or inserts vary, but it's realistic to estimate around $2,000 while the venting will add about $1,500 more.
Hall suggests it is possible to save a little with the interior piping for an insert. The stainless steel is a little smaller and doesn't have to look as good as with an exposed vent, she adds.
A remaining factor is "The Glow."
"Most people who come in are looking for efficiency in heating," Shepherd says, "but some want the aesthetics of a fire."
That's where inserts capture some fans, he says, because the doors of those units show a fire better than those on a stove.
Sedlock agrees, saying. "Most people enjoy the fire and inserts give them a chance to see that."
Both types of burners are retaining their popularity.
"People seem to be saying if we're going to be burning wood, we may as well get some heat out of it," says Jim Walnoha.
Hints on safe fires
An efficient fire also needs to be a safe fire, the Environmental Protection Agency warns.
- Keep all flammable household items -- such as drapes, furniture, newspapers and books -- away from the stove or fireplace.
- Start fires only with clean newspaper or kindling. Never use gasoline, kerosene, charcoal starter or a propane torch.
- Do not burn wet or unseasoned wood.
- Do not use logs made from wax and sawdust. They are for open fireplaces only. If you use a manufactured log, make sure it is 100 percent compressed sawdust.
- Build small, hot fires. Smoldering fires are not safe or efficient.
- Keep the doors closed unless loading or stoking the fire.
- Regularly put ashes into a metal container with a cover. Store the ashes outside in a cement or brick-slab container. Make sure it is not on a wood deck or near wood.
- Keep a fire extinguisher handy.
