Quality Electric Fireplace Options Create A "green" Environment For Your Home

You can never have too much money or good health and there are several things you can do to improve the status of both for yourself this winter

. Creating a green environment within your home will save you money on your energy bill while providing you and your family with the warmth and comfort you need to stay well through the cold winter months. Not only can you reduce your energy costs and consumption levels, but you can also enjoy all the traditional ambiance of a hearth and fireplace, without the mess or the fire risks, all as you save money.

Heating and cooling bills represent an average of 56 percent of your annual energy bill, which should bring heating and cooling to the forefront of your financial and environmental plan. Regardless of where you live, there are several steps that you and your family can take to significantly reduce your energy consumption while staying comfortably warm. These actions are familiar to most people and they can all be done without hiring a contractor.

Keep the Heat Inside

The most important aspect of greening your home is to keep the heat in the house. There is no sense turning up the thermostat only to have a big portion of the heat literally fly out the window. Windows, doors, and pipe openings should all be inspected for leaks. Pipe openings can be sealed with expanding insulation foam sprayed from a can. Doors and windows can be sealed with weather stripping. You should also check to ensure that heat registers and intake vents are not blocked and that your filters are replaced regularly.

Check the insulation wherever you can get to it. Insulation can be found in basements, attics, crawl spaces, and in walls. Any place that appears to have inadequate or damaged insulation should be repaired. All of the supplies are available at your local home improvement store. Having ensured that your home has no air leaks, you will require less energy for the same level of heat.

Staying Warm With Less

You can reduce your energy bill by up to 10 percent simply by turning the thermostat down just a few degrees and by reducing it even more when no one is home or when everyone is asleep. Of course, there is no sense in being uncomfortable. To provide you and your family with supplemental heat exactly where it is needed, the use of an electric fireplace or an Amish fireplace can keep your energy bill down while your family stays comfortably warm.

In olden days, everyone would gather around the fireplace to get warm. While there's nothing like curling up in front of a nice warm fire on a cold winter night, most people currently live in apartments and condos, where fireplaces have become a thing of the past, until now. An electric fireplace or Amish fireplace can provide all of the heat and ambiance of a real fire without any of the risks or messes.

To maintain a wood fireplace, you must consider the cost of the wood, where the wood will be stored, and what insects and other undesirables will come into your home with the wood when it is brought in. In addition, consider who is going to clean the ashes out of the hearth and where will the ashes be disposed of without causing a fire hazard. Wood fireplaces also require having the flue and chimney maintained by a professional.

Gas fireplaces, while far more clean and efficient than wood fireplaces, require professional maintenance of the pilot light and the venting system. Gas fireplaces generally operate at a cost of 24 cents per hour. In comparison, an electric fireplace provides realistic looking, patented flame technology for about 4 cents per hour and flame with heat for 8 to 12 cents an hour. A furniture quality electric fireplace uses patented flame technology and highly efficient heaters and fans to fill your room with the comfortable heat and ambiance of a traditional fireplace without the fire risks or inconveniences.

Admirable Advantages

In addition to creating the traditional feel of a fireplace with mantels built by expert craftsmen and realistic looking flames and ember beds, an Amish fireplace or electric fireplace operates for far less than other heat sources. Environmentally, an electric fireplace produces zero emissions, they are energy efficient, and they allow you to provide supplemental heat for up to 400 square feet with 4700 BTUs per hour.

You can make your home more energy efficient this winter by ensuring that it is free of leaks, your major heating system is working optimally, and by making use of supplemental heat sources such as an electric fireplace heater or Amish fireplace to heat only the areas being used within your home.

by: Rick A. Morse

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