How to save Energy with Fireplace
Back in time, our ancestors mostly relied on fireplace in most of their activities. They lit fireplace to warm up their bodies, to cook their meals, and to light up the room at night.Fireplace became a vital need in their life at that time but the clock is tingling and the world keeps changing. People become much busier and living life has been easier for them. Nowadays, central heating is more effective since it heats all the space so people won’t need to huddle around a fireplace to warm their bodies. Portable heater is also a reliable friend for outdoor activities. Stove, microwave, and oven are the dependable devices to prepare meals, even instant foods are available around the country for people who do not have time to cook. Also at the present time, people no longer use fireplace to light up the night, they use light bulbs. So do we need any reason to use fireplace again in this modern era?
Yes, we do. Although newer technologieshas made life easier for humankind, they arise some serious problems. As most countries’ sources of energy are still based on crude oil, natural gas, and coal, it is important to save energy to reduce the pollution. In doing so, we also contribute in saving natural resources since they cannot be replaced. It might be a wise choice to follow the lives of our ancestors, optimizing the use of fireplace once again.
Save Energy
In Republic of South Korea, there is a heating system called Ondol. Ondol is a traditional underfloor heating system that works by transferring the heat produced by the burning wood to the flooring system. The Agungi or the stove usually located at the kitchen where the wood are burnt in the furnace to cook meals, then the hot smoke will spread around the house flooring and warming up the floor, the smoke then continue its travel to the chimney. It operates similarly to fireplace the way it uses wood as the fuel, the way it transfers heat to floor and/or wall surfaces and emits the gas to the air. However, wood is getting harder to find and wood fireplace produces carbon monoxide which can be dangerous for houses with minimum ventilation especially the ones that do not have chimney like an apartment. In that kind of situation, electric fireplace might be a good choice. Electric fireplace consume up to 120V which is lower that the energy needed by central heating. Even though using electric fireplace will not cut down the use of electrical energy completely, it lowers the use of it which is better than nothing. Then again, if you have a house with roof, maybe it’s the perfect time to build a fireplace in your house and a chimney through your roof. Remember that once you build it, you need to keep the fireplace clean when it’s not used like cleaning up the ashes and the chimney. Don’t forget to install a glass door on the fireplace!
