Open fireplaces: why you should avoid them
Traditional open fireplaces vs. modern fireplaces: the benefits of current technology
Open fireplaces are open-flame fireboxes with no glass panel. They are still featured in many homes, both traditional and new ones. An open fireplace should be considered a furnishing object, used very often in order to enjoy the decorative function of the flame or to occasionally cook food over the embers. It should not be regarded as a heating solution because of its poor performance and high particulate emissions, which make an open fireplace a costly whim and also cause major air pollution.
As much as an open fireplace burns natural and “carbon-neutral” fuel, such as wood, it also becomes a key source of emissions of fine particles and other unwanted compounds as it does not have any combustion optimisation system – to the extent that it is even prohibited to turn on open-flame fireboxes in high urban density areas with significant air pollution. In this regard, please see the resolutions issued in Germany, in Italy or in the Île-de-France region in France.
Modern fireplaces: a valid solution
The modern fireplace has a firebox closed with tempered glass and the heat produced inside it, rather than being dissipated in the flue, is recovered through special solutions and introduced again into the home environment through air vents. This way, the calorific value of wood is utilised in a more efficient and cost-effective way. This is why, on a like-to-like basis in terms of amount of wood used, modern fireplaces heat up more and pollute less than standard open-chamber fireplaces.
Modern fireplaces, specifically designed to ensure a clean and efficient combustion, guarantee high performance and low emissions. Performance levels, which in open fireplaces hardly reach 15-30%, reach 80-90% in modern fireplaces and levels of particulate emissions are more than eight times lower.
Consult this page to see all our models of wood-burning modern fireplaces.
Modern pellet fireplaces: benefits
Moreover, by using pellets instead of wood, modern fireplaces provide an extra 10% reduction in the level of harmful emissions. For instance, it has been calculated that simply replacing open wood fireplaces or obsolete wood-burning stoves with innovative pellet products would reduce PM10 emissions by over 80%.
Along with the eco-friendly aspect, modern pellet fireplaces have a number of practical advantages, mainly associated with the option of programming the switch-on/off times according to your own schedule and needs. Fuel storage is much easier too, as bags of pellets take up less space and leave things clean.
Consult this page to see all our models of pellet-burning fireplaces.
