Installing a fireplace in your homes ensures that you’re comfortable throughout the year, especially during the cold winter months. Despite its most obvious usage (heat primarily) it also has an aesthetic and romantic feature. You probably saw one or two movie scenes where two lovers sit by the fireplace with a glass of vine and enjoy its benefits. I can just hear the wood crackling and heat caressing my face, it’s truly a remarkable feeling.
Besides, these installations make your home more attractive and can also increase its perceived value. A truly breathtaking place in the house is always a nice kitchen and a fireplace that offers both additional warmth and cosiness. However, many homeowners find it challenging to choose a model that suits their needs. Since there are a lot of these fireplaces and a lot of different types, you can opt to have something a bit old and rustic or you can have a real modern fireplace that will be a centrepiece of your high-tech home.
The three most common types of fireplaces are wood, gas, and electric. While each has its pros and cons, wood-fired fireplaces are considerably better than the rest. If you have a backyard and a shed that can store wood, some skill with an axe than you are in for a treat with one of these. Nothing can even come close to the satisfaction of building a live fire in a closed room and hearing it pop and crack while it heats does its job.
Here are some of the advantages of using a wood fire.
Affordability
Wood is readily available in most parts of the world, making it more affordable than gas and electricity. There are no maintenance costs besides forming and maintaining the shelter for wood where it will season. Also, its prices tend to stay stable over extended periods, unlike oil and gas. You shouldn’t have shortages or even high demand that will boost up the price because wood is something you have to be acquainted with and not all will opt for its usage. If you season your wood, the only expense you will incur is labour costs.
Seasoning wood starts by chopping logs into small bits to quicken the drying process. Then, store the pile in a well-ventilated room away from rain and other forms of moisture. Ideally, the room should have a closed roof with open sides. After stacking the wood, allow it to dry for at least six months before using it. This way you will have extended use time and more heat coming from it while wet or moist wood still burns it is ineffective in heat production and after you add it all up, you used a lot of it but don’t get hot enough.
Classic Appearance
Although gas and electric fireplaces are more convenient to use, they can’t match the classic feel that wood-fired evoke. The smell and sound of burning firewood, as well as the natural warmth it generates, are almost impossible to replicate. With every fire you start, you will jump straight into your favourite romance movie, which usually plays out in a winter surrounding that just adds more to the entire feel. The wood-fired fireplace speaks to us on a different level and that is without a doubt.
Additionally, homeowners like lighting fires using their hands, instead of turning a knob or pressing a button. This is why wood fires are still a popular choice, despite the experience of gas and electric fireplaces.
Eco-friendliness
Burning wood has positive effects on the environment. Because logs produce lower amounts of carbon dioxide than other fuels, like coal and oil, they are the better option if you’re conscious of your surroundings. Since we live in a modern-day age where there is less and less attention paid to our planet, some of us can at least help in this way, plus you get a neat living space that will eventually boost your home price whenever you decide to sell it. Also, using wood reduces your heating bills.
Beyond heating, using wood from sustainable sources incentivizes people to take care of their wood. Managed woodlands also provide a habitat for wild animals. Raising awareness about disappearing woods is very important, and going a step further and planting a wood that you or your family members will use in the next 5-10 years is something we should all do whether we heat ourselves with wood, gas or electricity.
Variety
Nowadays, homeowners have a broad range of wood fireplaces to choose from. You select different colours, sizes, and shapes, all depending on your preference. You can have an old-style brick fireplace, a modern levitating one, against a wall or even as a centrepiece of the sitting area, you really have an abundance of options, and only your imagination is your limiting factor. Whatever you pick, ensure that it matches your home’s interior design, unless you want it to look out of place.
Lower Costs
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on utility bills, wood fires are your best bet. Once the fire is roaring, all you need to do is add a few logs, and you will keep warm for the entire night.
Moreover, wood is reliable. With gas and electricity, there’s always a probability you will experience outages, meaning that you have to spend nights in the cold. Plus, there are upkeep costs that might add to the price, or even some malfunctions of the system which will mean again, night or nights in the cold. With wood even if it’s wet or moist it will still burn and do its job, while if your gas system breaks there is no way you will get warm, whatever you do.
Wood is easy, all you have to do is at least yearly clean your chimney to prevent fires from soot buildup, and that is it. Keep the pit clean and just add another log whenever it is needed. Fire-wood guarantees warmth, provided you have enough stock, it’s simple as that.
Conclusion
Wood fires are popular among homeowners because they are affordable, attractive, and efficient. Moreover, they are eco-friendly, particularly if the fuel comes from sustainable sources. It has another benefit and it comes as a secondary one – it is keeping you in shape during winter days when all of us are as lazy as possible. Chopping and constantly carrying it in and cleaning the pit is at least some exercise need in those long winter months.
If you are in a dilemma over which type of heater to purchase for your home, we believe that the advantages mentioned above are enough to convince you to pick wood-fired models.