5 Reasons to Upgrade to a Wood Burning Insert

There’s a lot to love about a wood-burning fireplace: the crackling flame, the nostalgia, the atmosphere, the smells, but there’s a lot to dislike. Constant drafts, heat loss, and the hassle are just a few of the things many people don’t like about a traditional fireplace. That’s where a wood-burning insert comes in. Inserts take everything people love about a real wood fire and wrap it in modern efficiency and convenience. If you’ve ever looked at your fireplace and thought, “I wish there were a better way,” this is the post for you. Here are five reasons to consider upgrading to a wood-burning insert.

They’re Incredibly Efficient

Traditional fireplaces are charming, but many people don’t know they’re horribly inefficient for heating. Most of the heat goes up the chimney instead of into the house. In fact, many fireplace owners are surprised to learn that an open fireplace can pull warm air out of the home, making your heater or furnace work harder to keep you warm.

A wood-burning insert is a closed system. It’s designed with high-efficiency combustion technology, insulated fireboxes, and tightly sealed doors that direct heat where it belongs—in your house. Many inserts are EPA-certified and boast efficiency ratings of over 70%. That means more warmth per log, lower heating costs, and a much cozier home.

If you’ve ever wondered why the roaring fire in the fireplace isn’t doing much to heat your home, this upgrade solves that problem immediately.

You Get More Heat With Less Hassle

Another reason many homeowners are falling in love with wood-burning inserts is how easy they are to use every day. Because inserts burn wood more completely and efficiently, they produce longer-lasting heat. Your fire stays hotter with fewer logs, and you spend less time tending the flames or running out to grab more wood.

Plus, high-quality inserts offer built-in fans or blowers that help move heat throughout the room. Instead of hovering a foot away from the fireplace to feel warm, your entire space feels cozy.

And let’s be honest, while feeding a fire is part of the charm, babysitting it constantly is not.

They Dramatically Improve Home Safety

True, open fireplaces are beautiful and hearken back to simpler times, but they come with risks: stray embers, rolling logs, sparks flying on your living room rug, and excessive creosote buildup in the chimney. And it’s a bigger problem than you might think.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) states that “In 2013, one home structure fire was reported every 85 seconds.” And, “The leading factor contributing to home heating fires was failure to clean, principally creosote from solid-fueled heating equipment.“

Wood-burning inserts contain the fire behind a sealed, heat-resistant door, so there’s no chance of sparks popping or escaping when you’re not looking.

Because inserts burn hotter and more efficiently, they produce less creosote, a major cause of chimney fires, as noted by the NFPA. That doesn’t mean you can skip chimney cleaning altogether, but it does mean you’re operating a cleaner-burning system overall.

If you worry about leaving the fire alone for a few minutes, a sealed insert offers tremendous peace of mind.

They’re an Environmentally Friendlier Option

Burning wood is a carbon-neutral process. Trees absorb carbon dioxide while growing and release roughly the same amount when burned. But a traditional fireplace doesn’t burn cleanly, which means more smoke, more particulates, and more pollution inside the home. This can be harmful to family members with allergies or upper respiratory conditions.

Modern wood-burning inserts, especially EPA-certified models, are designed to burn wood hot and clean. They use advanced secondary combustion systems that re-burn smoke and gases before they escape up the chimney. This results in fewer pollutants lingering in the house and a fire that takes better advantage of every piece of wood.

They Make Your Fireplace Fun Again

Everything said up to this point is a good reason to upgrade, but the most important reason is that an insert can make you love using your fireplace again. If you’ve stopped lighting fires because the room gets smoky, it never gets warm enough, or it’s too much darned work, a wood-burning insert eliminates those issues and brings back the joy.

Thinking About Upgrading? Call Advanced Today!

Advanced Chimney Sweep is your go-to local fireplace expert in Georgia and South Carolina. We sell, install, and service wood-burning fireplace inserts that can add charm, value, and warmth to your home. Plus, you get to work with a family-owned company of experts who know their stuff. Call us today!