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Fireplace dampers are basically little more than metal flaps in the flumes of your chimney that supposedly keeps out cold air and draughts and also keeps out leaves, rain and small animals who might think of climbing down the chimney and taking a look. If you live in an older house or in a rural area, fireplace dampers are very important as there are a lot of things that may wish to climb down the chimney and surprise you.
Fireplace dampers are also sometimes used to control the size of a fire. Because they can restrict the down flow of air into a fire, they can be used to control the amount of oxygen that gets to your fire and therefore can cause the fire to burn slower, and at a lower temperature. This is usually done by people hoping to save fuel or reduce the intensity of a fire once the house or room is sufficiently heated. Most fireplace dampers manufacturers however, do not recommend that you try to use the fireplace dampers to regulate the oxygen in the fire. First of all, it causes the fire to burn less efficiently, creating more smoke and air pollution. This will cause your chimney to get dirty a lot faster and will require more frequent cleaning. You also run the risk of letting smoke and harmful gases into your house. Another problem with traditional fireplace dampers is that their design has changed very little in the past two hundred years. They are easily damaged or warped and can allow a lot of heat, up to $200 worth a year, to escape. To get over this problem, certain companies have developed new fireplace dampers that are a lot more effective at keeping in heat in the winter. These fireplace dampers are fitted to the top of the chimney and create an insulated and air tight seal that should prevent you from losing any more heat through the chimney. While these new fireplace dampers can cost up to $600 to have professionally installed, they should pay for themselves over a couple of years in saved heat. You can also reduce the cost of fireplace dampers by installing them yourself if you are feeling a little adventurous. One of the biggest risks with fireplace dampers is that you forget to open them before lighting a fire. This can be a very dangerous and costly mistake. All of the smoke from the fire will be forced into your home, causing potentially disastrous smoke damage throughout the house. There is also a danger that a fire may start inside the house. To reduce the risk of this, always make sure you open the fireplace dampers at the start of the heating season and consider leaving it open for the entire season if you are going to have regular fires. |
