5 Steps to Choosing A Fireplace Insert

For years now I've wanted a fireplace insert.  

I have an older home built in 1977 and I have electrical baseboard heat which can get very expensive.  In addition, I also have an older fireplace.  You know, the ones that are really inefficient and most of your heat simply goes up the chimney?

Well, nowadays you can put a new pellet or wood burning fireplace insert in one of those drafty holes and get efficient heat and cut back on your other heating expenses.  Which is going to be critical with rising energy costs.

But, once I began looking at fireplace inserts it became apparent that there were a lot more choices and price ranges then I ever expected.  So, I had to do a lot of research on my own part.

This website is intended to be a place where you can go to get unbiased research from a consumers point of view and from someone who is going through the same decision-making process you are.

Just to give you a broader overview before I start getting into more specific posts here are some of the things you're going to have to consider before you buy your fireplace insert:

(1)  What's your budget like?

Just buying the insert itself will likely set you back $1500 to $3000 depending on the model you buy, brand name and how many bells and whistles it has.  Also, that's for a wood burning insert.  If you're looking at a pellet stove than you can add more money onto that figure.  Probably another $1000.

Also, you're going to have to look at the fireplace insert chimney connection.

Meaning, sometimes (actually often) you'll find that your chimney isn't up to snuff and you may have to have it 'relined'.  This, while necessary to keep your home safe, can also get expensive depending on how much work is involved.  I've seen estimates as high as $2,000 to reline a chimney for an insert.

(2)  What kind of heat do you want?

Some people love the roar of a fire with real logs in it.  Others just want the heat and efficiency of a pellet stove.  Still others just want a cheaper alternative and more independence from expensive utility companies and the whims of the marketplace.

(3)  Do you have a hearth?

While they call them inserts, there really is more than goes into choosing one than finding an old fireplace hole and pushing in your new insert.

For example, if you have a desire for a wood burning model you'll need to thing about a hearth.  In my case, I have a masonry chimney so I have a hearth that extends out to not only protect from the intense heat but also serves as a support if I don't buy a true zero clearance fireplace insert.

(4)  Building codes and 'no burn' areas

I'm fortunate in that I live in a rural area.  So my choice to burn firewood is much more liberal.  Other metropolitan areas have 'no burn days' or very stringent rules on who can install fireplaces and when they can be burned.

More and more the decision to not only purchase a fireplace insert but also how you want to operate it is not under your control.  To be on the safe side, check with your local planning board or building codes inspector to be sure.

(5)  Environment

A lot of folks get up in arms if you say you are going to burn wood.  They start throwing out words like carbon footprint and other environmental slogans.

Technically, burning wood is carbon neutral.  If the wood is not burned and falls and rots on the ground it still releases carbon.  It just does it a lot slower.

Secondly, fireplace insert manufacturers have come so far in the last 20 years they are truly amazing in not only efficiency but environmental safety.

Obviously, I'm biased towards a wood burning fireplace.  But just so you know that if you read anywhere online about fireplaces you'll read very biased opinions on whether you should or should not burn wood or pellets.

In the end, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't.  Unless it's nuclear power we are all polluting by heating our homes.  If you don't have a fireplace your option is to rely on fossil fuels - which are mainly coming from overseas.  And something that you and I really don't have much control over.