How To: Choose a Hearth | Resources for Log Homes |
How To: Choose a Hearth
The relationship between log homes and hearths is one of America's favorite love stories. Here's everything you need to know about buying yours. |
| Even contemporary designs, such as this pier fireplace from Travis Industries, can work in a rustic setting. |
When choosing a hearth for your log home, take several aspects into consideration: style (fireplace, stove, log insert), fuel (gas, wood, electric, pellets) and location. Installing a hearth in your living room can make it an instant design focal point, as well as a major source of heat for your home. But hearths also can be installed in less-traditional locations, like kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and offices.
Chris Maxson, president of Acucraft Fireplaces, is an advocate of wood-burning fireplaces. You only need to load the fireplace twice a day to heat your entire home, he says, and with a water loop you can capture the fireplace's heat to warm the water throughout your home. But, for Chris, there's more to a wood-burning hearth than just the carbon footprint. "The significance of the wood-burning hearth ties in to the idea of wanting to get away, to get back to nature and relax," he says. "Wood-burning hearths add ambience to the interior, just like the logs do to the exterior of a log home."
New trends also can impart an elegant, contemporary touch to a classic log home. You can construct your mantel out of nontraditional materials such as bamboo or driftwood, and you can place decorative logs inside the firebox to keep your hearth looking homey when it's not in use. A fireplace surrounded by three sides of glass, known as a pier or peninsula fireplace, can strike an aesthetic balance between dividing and opening up a room. And smaller wall-mounted fireplaces are perfect for the kitchen or bathroom. (Some even come with bread warmers!)
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| Gas-burning outdoor fireplaces like the Sierra from The Outdoor GreatRoom Company make it possible to enjoy your outdoor room year-round. |
Despite the abundance of hearth products for inside the home, don't overlook opportunities for an open flame outside. Outdoor fireplaces can be permanently installed on a patio or deck or in an outdoor room (and they usually don't require a chimney). These hearths have become increasingly popular as the economy has plummeted, explains Deidra Darsa of the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. "More and more people are spending their time at home and creating their own resorts in their backyards," she says.
How Efficient Is It?
By installing an electric or gas fireplace and switching to zone heating, you can cut down on the costs—financial and environmental—of a central-heating system. According to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, electric hearths are the most efficient (up to 99 percent), while vent-free gas hearths operate at 92 to 99 percent efficiency. Even wood-burning fireplaces are now EPA-certified (60 to 80 percent efficient), and pellets made of recycled sawdust or wood chips are another clean-burning option (ranging from 50 to 80 percent efficient). For more information on fuels, click here.
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By Scott West on Jul 22, 2009
Just a quick bit concerning fireplace fuels from a mechanical engineer. While electrical heaters are about 100% efficient at point of use, significantly more energy (and thus carbon emissions) occur in delivery to your home (power plant losses and transportation losses). If one is concerned with their carbon footprint for example, the carbon factor is 0.194 kgCO2/kWh for natural gas, versus around 0.6 kgCO2/kWh for typical US grid electricity (this depends on where you live). This is about 3 times as much carbon released into the atmosphere! Obviously natural gas refining and transport contributes as well, but this is less significant than electrical losses. Wood performs better and is arguably more renewable. Some types of biofuels (pellets and woodchips for example) are often considered carbon neutral because you're just releasing carbon the plants soaked up during their lifetime (short term carbon storage cycle versus long term like coal). This is why some people are not so crazy about electric cars. There is talk about greening the electrical grid and smart grid technology but I think this will be a slow process and will not swing the decision for some time. Obviously the best choice for your log home depends on local availability of utilities and fuel supply chain. Personally, for a log home I would prefer a wood hearth. It just adds to the rustic aesthetic. I would urge anyone seriously considering the environmental impacts of their log home to research these things further through credible sources. I hope this helps!
By marquitta winfree on Jul 23, 2009
I couldn't have said it better myself, Scott! I am flabbergasted at the notion that an electric anything in a home is more economical. If you can go propane or n. gas, it will always save you money. Beware of "hidden" advertizing. Find out who is giving the advice and if they have anything to gain. You might be disgustingly surprised. If you live in the woods and can gather your own fuel, better yet! Yes, get rid of the 23 foot ceilings, drop your open ceiling to no more than 15 feet and keep your other ceilings at 10. Why 10 instead of 8'. Because, if you need to be cooler in the summer - heat still rises. Design for windows that can open for air currents Put in a fireplace and radiant floor heating (the costs have come down) and a few ceiling fans. Yes, the fans are electric, but they will save an enormous amount over electric heating. Even gas radiant tile furnaces are better than electric and good ones work like a champ.
By Kitt Lowe on Sep 22, 2009
We are extremely interested in woodburning stoves. How would we know which one to buy and would we have to install it ourselves?
By Whitney Richardson on Oct 05, 2009
Kitt--Consumer Reports has a great guide to purchasing wood-burning stoves: http://bit.ly/mpkSF. It's not a recommended DIY installation; you will need to call in a professional. Check with the manufacturer for recommended companies.