Fall evokes many feelings as I crunch through the falling leaves and needles, watch my breath frost in the air, and feel the rain in my face.

What are great time for fireplaces and wood stoves! I love the smell of wood smoke in the chill air, the quiet reflective time reading in my den, and the romance of a fire lit evening. Fireplaces and woodstoves can be used energy efficiently and sustainable and I thought I’d share some tips on this wonderful topic.

First off, fireplaces:

When the fireplace is not is use, dampers should be in the closed position to prevent warm room air from being exhausted out through the chimney. A glass or metal door, or any noncombustible shield placed in front of the fireplace, will limit the amount of warm room air leaving the house when the fireplace is not is use.

This is especially advantageous when allowing the fire to burn down for the night, but the damper has to remain open to allow for venting of the smoke. While the fireplace is in operation, the glass doors should remain open since most of the heat produced by a fireplace is in the form of radian heat.

If they are closed, the glass will deflect radiant heat back into the fireplace and reduce the heat output into the room.

Installing a fireplace insert, which is essentially a metal woodstove that slides into the fireplace cavity, can also increase energy efficiency.

Again, the fireplace and chimney should be inspected and cleaned prior to installation. Circulation fireplaces have heat circulation ducts built into the masonry fireplace and can circulate air from the room around a metal firebox and out into the room. Some of these units have fans to increase the flow of air and heat. These units are made of metal and thus warm quickly and cool rapidly once the fire is extinguished.

Remember—to achieve the most energy efficiency from fireplace and to ensure safety, it is important to have your fireplace and chimney cleaned and inspected at least once a year.

Second, wood stoves:

Another method of increasing the efficiency of the fireplace is to install a woodstove in front of it, and use the existing fireplace chimney as the exhaust for the stove. That’s what I did. Before such an installation, the fireplace and chimney should be inspected, repaired and cleaned.

Check with your local building department and/or air pollution control district to see if a wood stove or insert is allowed. There are many woodstove types and hundreds of woodstove models including wood or pellet types. A correctly located stove can circulate heated air into the more heavily used areas of the house.

Both fireplaces and wood stoves use firewood. Firewood can be purchased in several forms. Although there are a variety of measuring units, firewood is normally sold by the cord, or a fraction of a cord. The dimensions of a “standard cord” is a stack of wood piled 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and four feet high.

The more services a wood dealer furnishes (such as splitting, delivering and stacking) the more costly purchasing will be. Orders for the purchase and delivery of firewood should be placed well in advance of the heating season.

Wood purchased during the peak periods is in more demand and becomes more expensive. You will also want to purchase early to guarantee seasoning. Seasoned wood has a higher heating value than green wood. In general, a cord of green wood will weigh 70 to 100 percent more than seasoned wood.

Seasoning takes place until the moisture content in the wood reaches equilibrium with the moisture in the surrounding air.

Wood stacked outdoors with good air circulation in a dry, sunny and open for about six months will be dry enough to support efficient combustion.

The easiest and best fire, for either a stove or fireplace, is achieved by using a mixture of both softwoods (pines, firs, etc.) and hardwoods, (oak, eucalyptus, etc.) The softwoods facilitate starting the fire, and the hardwoods provide for long burning and good “coaling” qualities. A bed of ashes underneath the grate produces steady heat and aids in igniting new fuel as it is added.

The fire will continue burning if small amounts of wood are added at regular intervals. In fact, more efficient combustion results from burning small loads of wood with sufficient air than from burning large loads with minimal air. So for those who have a fireplace or a wood stove, enjoy them, use them responsibly, safely, and with these tips I trust, efficiently.