Fireplace Glass Doors — Conserving Energy, Saving Money

You’ve got your working fireplace going—a nice, warm fire for a cold night. The lights are down a bit to make things more cozy. So why do you need glass fireplace doors?

To get the answer we turned to Ray Repasky. Ray is the vice president of Thermo-Rite, a manufacturer of glass fireplace doors.

“If there are not glass doors on the fireplace, most of your heated air goes up and out the chimney,” says Ray.

The key is air flow. Without fireplace doors, the fire draws air from the room, heats it, and the heated air rises out through the chimney. Although you get some heat radiated from the hearth, ironically the fire is drawing colder air into the room and expelling the warmed air out through the chimney.

According to the Black Hills Power company, the average fireplace is very inefficient at delivering heat, losing most of the heat from the fire. They recommend glass glass fireplace doors to increase the energy efficiency of your fireplace. And energy efficiency translates directly into savings.

With the price of all fuels rising—natural gas, home heating oil, even firewood—many homeowners find that installing fireplace doors helps to keep a room warmer with a fire. “Most people are anticipating the shortage of gas and the expense of gas, so they’re trying to get more heat out of their fireplaces to keep bills down,” Repasky says. “And they’re finding that energy-efficient fireplace doors reduce air flow from the heated room.” The radiant heat from the fireplace and the tempered glass of the doors (which can safely withstand temperatures up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit) warms the room, and less warm air is lost.

Another way fireplace doors save energy and preserve heat is by keeping cold air from blowing down the chimney when you don’t have a fire going. “If you have a glass door on that fireplace, it acts like a storm door,” says Ray. “It’s a proven fact that the room will stay warmer when the door is closed.”

Homeowners with vented gas logs can also benefit from a glass door addition. “If you use glass fireplace doors on wood-burning or vented-gas fireplaces, you can make the room feel warmer than normal.”

Fireplace glass doors are a great way to “go green.” Increasing the energy efficiency of your fireplace helps the environment, and lower energy bills keep more “green” in your wallet!


Related Links:

Choosing the Right Fireplace Glass Door
An article with more information on the various options for fireplace glass doors.

Fireplace Glass Doors
Masonry and zero-clearance fireplace doors. Many different styles and sizes to choose from.