Clinton News-Record, 1978-11-02, Page 31Wood heat is popular
The lure of an open fire
remains powerful even
though more North
Americans are beginning to
realize that fireplaces often
are net heat losers.
Since a fire needs lots of
oxygen to burn, it will draw
air from all parts of the house
and from outside through
cracks in walls and windows.
This air is then expelled up
the chimney, meaning the
furnace. has to vita* .extra
hard to reheat the rest of the
house. And since the damper
has to be left open until the
fire is completely out - which
may be all night - more hot
air escapes.
To combat this waste, heat-
ciculating fireplaces have
been ' developed. There are
several models but the basic
principle is that air is taken
in, warmed through some
type of heat -exchange system
and then passed into the
living quarters through vents.
The unit may take air from
outside or inside the house.
But for people who live in
older homes with con-
ventional masonry
fireplaces, there has been
little recourse except to in-
stall glass doors or to, cut
down on use of the fireplace in
the winter. Now, according to
Jim Johns of Custom Design
Centre in London, there is a
fireplace insert available
which turns a conventional
unit into a heat -circulator.
The insert is a steel box with
glass doors, and ranges in
price from $399 to $549 plus a
$100 installation,charge,
Johns says that sine the unit
was shown at the Western
Fair this year, there has been.
an "astronomical response"
and he has received about 250
inquiries about it.
Wood stoves are also
growing in popularity, both
for heating and cooking.
According to manufacturers,
the Franklin type is most
Use hot water
carefully
Saving water can save
energy, and showering with a
friend isn't the only Way to
save. Good Housekeeping
magazine offers a few others:
+Check toilets for leaks
from tank into bowl. Leaks
can be detected by adding a
few drops of food coloring to
tank water If color shows up
in the bowl, there's a leak,
+Don't use the toilet as a
wastebasket.
+Spend less time in the
shower
+Turn off water while
brushing teeth.
+Don't run water for a cold
drink. Instead, keep a bottle
of - drinking water in the
refrigerator.
+Fix leaking faucets.
+Don't let water run while
washing or rinsing dishes,
clothes or hands. Fill the sink
with just enough water to do
the job.
+Water the lawn in early
morning to avoid evaporation
loss.
+Use a timer or alarm
- clock to remind you to turn off
sprinklers.
+Before leaving on a trip,
turn off the water heater and
the water supply to your
house. That way you won't
have to pay for any leaks.
Remember, a faucet
dripping once a second loses
2,555 gallons of water a year.
That's enough to flood a
football field one inch deep.
sought-after. This ingenious
stove, invented by Benjamin
Franklin in 1742, used air
from a draft beneath the
floor, employed some for
combustion and spewed the
rest back into the room.
The stove has been
modified a great deal, . not
necessarily for more ef-
ficiency. With doors in front
that can be opened or closed,
it is not as effective as a
closed' stove but -it does
provide the esthetic pleasure
of an open fire.
And the open -fire concept is.
a draw to prospective buyers,
says Ne`d Fisher, president of
the Enterprise Foundry Co.
Ltd. He found . that as the
public became more aware of
the limits on oil and natural
gas, wood stoves seemed a
natural replacement,
because they would be
energy -savers and because
"there's magic in an open
fire." _
Fisher cautions that the
wood stove is not the answer
to all home -heating problems
since it operates most ef-
fectively when heating a
limited space. To heat the
whole house with wood, a
wood -burning furnace would
be required.
For those who are still
reluctant to invest in a wood
stove, who are not lured .by
the romanticism or the
potential energy savings,
Fisher offers one last-ditch
inducement: A wood stove
offers protection against a
power failure.
There are hazards as well
as joys in using wood stoves
or fireplaces. House fires are
more common in dwellings
heated with wood, no matter
how. carefully the installation
is supervised, simply because
of the nature of the heat
source: A burning fire gives
off sparks and flames. A
smoke detector is practical
for any home, but especially
for one in which wood heat is
used. (If it's installed too
close to the stove, however,
smoke might set the alarm off
everytime you put a fire on.)
And maintenance is im-
portant since a clean chimney
and woodburning unit will be
safer than one crammed with
combustible material.
So the bottom line is that
the use of wood in an energy-
efficient unit Is cheaper than
using the traditional home -
heating fuels. If home -owners
are willing to give up some of
the romanticism of an
energy -wasting open fire,
they are likely to be rewarded
with a saving in the
pocketbook.
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