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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 26, 1979)
Portland Observer Section II Thursday. July 2 1 ,1»7t PagaS Facts about fireplaces savers Some of these devices employ a blower to draw cixil room a ir through hollow tubes (see Figure 2l. rec tangular chambers, or pas sage ways near the fire The air is heated by the fire as it goes under, behind and then over the fire: the air is then blown back into the rixim Others depend on natural convection A ir enters the hollow tubes, chamber, or passageway. rises as the fire heats it. then is directed back into the rixim $200,000 LIQUIDATION SUMMER SALE m - l a va b a n ¿•n ’, h m .'M .......................... x— ’t t Ugh Swbral tack a n ......... Ma VNiyt la d a M o ................... n - W Oaxar laagx ....................Ma MA Oak la d ta rt ................. . . • « • * • $ Awertad Cafta* Tablai . . . M a *4f Aaaartad lad Tablai ......... fc«-*AA Cada« '«Mai . . . 'Z UdTabWi «aaaaRratadi M kite M i / - . S p a tia l g ad din g Prlaaa «. « M l «xadhaa «a ■ d » - ’« aatfb » « a a » M .* I * fcay al tapma t«B «dd lae aaaW Reducing Ruorn Air l oss As late as the mid-IKOO's. must of (his country's fuel needs were met by wood. Sixm after, other fuel sources emerged that were as inex pensive and abundant as wood Asa result, w ixxl suf fered a sharp decline in pop ularity and appeal as a fuel. Homeowners turned to more efficient, safer and easier to-care-for oil. gas and elec tric heating systems Today, the energy situa tion has changed and home owners, faced with the rising cost of oil . gas. and electricity. are reconsidering the bene fits of wixxl Now. living room fireplaces that went unused for sears are now being put back in to use to proside supplemental heat. But using the fireplace can actually waste instead of sase. heat, and increase, instead o f decrease, your energy costs The Depart ment of Energy offers the follow ing suggestions on how to gel the most out of your fireplace Whs Fireplaces Are Often Inefficient Heating Systems Though an efficient fire place can make a nxim cozy and warm most fireplaces provide little to no additional heat for the folowing reasons firs t, onls ten percent of the heal a normal fireplace prixluces actually gets into the room, the rest goes right up the chimney This happens because a fireplace depends on an updraft to keep the fire burning and to remove smoke Second, this flow of air not only lakes the heat from the fire up the chimney it ala> sucks warm air prixluced bs sour regular heating sys tem out of the rixim . A fire place can actually waste up to 2(1 percent of heat that sour regular heating system pnxluces This is because when sour furnace is on. a considerable amount of heat ed air from the rest of the -home flows into the fireplace and goes wastefulls up the chimney I hen the tempera ture in the other rooms of the house goes down, and the furnace uses more fuel to raise it to the level con trolled by the thermostat And finalls. fireplaces heat mainly by radiation — that is heat is generated when the rays from the (ire strike something, such as a person or grouping of chairs The air in between is warmed only indirectly lFor this reason, you will notice that when sitting in front of a fireplace, while the front of you may be warmed bv the fire, the back of you will remain cold. I Choosing An Efficient Fireplace There are two types of fire places. masonry or prefab ricated metal Masonry fire places are made of brick, stone, or adobe. Prefabri cated metal fireplaces come in free-standing and wall units. O f the two. metal fire places are more efficient than masonry fireplaces, because the metal hixxl and flue radi ate more heat into the rixim. They can also be placed in the middle of the room for better heat distribution How ever. the metal units do not hold heal as well as the ma sonry units and cixil quickly, once the fire is out. If the plan to build a ma sonry fireplace, you can keep the masonry look but get a more e fficie n t system by installing a pre fabricated heat-circulating mewl firebox inside the masonry construc tion isee Figure 11. A sy stem of cool air inlets built in to the base of the hearth draws air into the unit Two baffles direct the air against the back and sides of the hot metal box The warm air is then circulated upward into the rixim through air outlets located above the fireplace opening When properls installed, these units circulate more heat into the rixim than the masonry con struction because the metal absorbs less heal In existing fireplaces these fireboxes must be custom-built and installed llow I o Increase I he Efficiency Of Existing Fireplaces A number of devices are available that capture some of the heat that could other wise be lost up the chimney, and circulate it into the rixim. These devices include heat extractors, exchangers and Placing a heat-tempered glass firescreen in front of the fireplace opening w ill help decrease the amount of rixim air carried up the chimney. When the dixirs of the firescreen are closed, very little air can enter the fireplace except through air inlet dampers at the bottom of the unit. The heat of the fire radiates through the glass to the rixim . The fireplace screen also helps cut on the amount of heated rixim air that escapes through the open fireplace damper after (he fire has died out Here are some additional tips for lessening heat loss from your fireplace when the furnace is operating. -Lower the thermostat set tin g to 5()O-55°F Some warmed air w ill still be lost, but the furnace won t have to use as much fuel to heat the rest of the house to these temperatures as it would to raise the heat to 65degrees. ■Close all dixirs and warm air ducts in the rixim where the fireplace is lix'ated and open a window near the fire place about an inch A ir needed by the fire w ill come through the open window and the amount of heated air drawn from the rest of the house will be reduced Have separate outside air ducts installed to prov ide the air needed for the fire. These ducts will reduce the amount of rixim air needed to supply this air for the fire. -To avoid a large amount of heat loss through the fire place damper, keep it open just enough to prevent the fireplace (mm situ iking Close the damper tightly once the fire has died out. Inspect and clean the in side of vour chimney regular ly Here is a publication that will pros idea thorough back ground on the selection and installation of fireplaces as well as other wixxJburrung systems Fireplaces and (him neys U .S . D ep artm e n t o f A g ri cu ltu re A vailab le from : Superintendent of Dixurnents. U .S G o v e rn m e n t P rinting O ff ic e . W a s h in g to n . D C 20420. Stock No. 001-000- 01520 — 6. sal U OPEN HOURS 10AM 9PM Waakdaya 10 AM-8PM Sat Noon-8PM Sun , 31st A N X REMODELING VINYL FLOOR COVERINGS FAMOUS BRANDS $3.95 sq. yd. Reg price to $8 95 sq yd Some smaller, bathroom size pieces with values to $16 95 sq yd FORMICA - ODD SIZES 390 sq. ft. LARGE SIZES NEIL KELLY’S FLQDRC C V ERiNGS 804NO RTHALBERTA 2 8 ^ 5 Choose the style and color you want. Then, without cost or obligation, we ll measure your room and quote you tne price, fully installed. We ll also show you how you can do it yourself. V r / / Ç j n J * Figure 2 Hollow Tube Heat Extractor A b b o tt & S im p s o n R o o fin g 2 8 7 -5 5 5 2 » VISA, MasterCharge and Forentco Revolving Credit Plan 4W 1
