If you read this in the States, I’ll probably be preaching converted, but you will be surprised to hear that smoke dampers are almost not heard here in the UK. I have participated in the chimney / fireplace consultation for almost 15 years, and I am surprised that this simple technology has not yet become part of the standard fireplace and chimney in my country.
Most people never looked at their chimney; Many do not know that through this fireplace, up the chimney, and into the atmosphere 24/7, when the fire is burning or not, they let through a huge amount of their expensive air. The fact is that leaving the chimney open all year round is really no different from the exit from the window on the top floor, rain or shine.
Ironically, when the weather turns cold, people often start walking around the house, trying to find gaps around doors, windows and even keyholes that allow drafts and try to connect them without thinking where the project is going! Very often it is a chimney that drives craving, sucking this cold air into your house with centralized heating.
In the UK, building codes state that for every open fire equal to the area, constant open, special ventilation must be provided for half the cross-sectional area of the chimney. While homeowners are often horrified by the prospect of such a gaping hole in their living room, the fire must “breathe”, and improvements in the efficiency of domestic heating, such as carpets, double glazing and drafts, mean that we can rely more on purely unanticipated air supply. Adequate ventilation should not cause any discomfort if it is properly located, especially if a chimney is installed on the chimney, preventing unnecessary drafts and heat loss when the fire is not in use.
When the fire is burning, a valve of the appropriate size delivers the air needed for combustion and allows the chimney to draw; ideally, it should not be inside the fireplace, but on the same side of the room as the fireplace, so that the incoming cold air does not cross all the ankles, as it is attracted to and through the hole for the fireplace and to the chimney. In fact, by allowing the fire to "breathe" easily through this vent, it will tend to ensure that it can suck air from the far zone, through doors, windows, or down another property in a smokestack and improve comfort levels. The veins inside the fireplace are less desirable, as they can blow ash and smoke around and out of the fireplace; there is also a positive effect on the loss due to the incoming air passing through the hole in the fireplace, seeking to draw smoke with it.
As the cost of heating our homes increases with rising fuel prices, and the effect our waste habits have on the environment is becoming increasingly obvious, energy efficiency is no longer just a problem for green activists, but for all of us. For many, installing a wood stove is an obvious choice, but in the UK we are fortunate enough to have a rich architectural heritage of magnificent open fires, and there is a good argument for maintaining them if we can minimize their negative impact on the heating efficiency of a house. While wood or multistage stoves play an important role, their proper installation very often includes a chimney lining, which is not only an expensive operation for the client, but may be irreversible, preventing the use of the fireplace as an open fire in the future, and change the character rooms forever. Those who have several fireplaces can easily choose a stove installed in one fireplace as the main source of heat and install shock absorbers on other fireplaces, especially if the alternative is constantly closing the chimney.
For fireplaces that are expected to be used very rarely, DIY solutions can help. I often see plastic fiberglass bags or bubbles stuffed into the chimneys! There are also specially made balloons and the like on the market, but for more regular use most of them will not want to remove and store any form of soot chimney every time they have a fire. It is also worth knowing that good practice allows a trickle of air to flow into the chimney to prevent condensation and / or the chimney is so cold that it will be difficult to restore the piercing light of the fire.
If possible, the ideal solution is to fit the planned chimney flap, which the homeowner can instantly open and close at will, without fuss or confusion. Benefits in comfort and reduced fuel bills will make it an investment that pays for itself much faster than most in the home improvement sector. Dampers can be installed above or below the chimney, and there are pros and cons for both styles, but often the geometry of the fireplace and chimney and the relative difficulty of accessing the top of the chimney will be a decisive factor.
One of the reasons for the slow use of smoke dampers in the UK is the excessive diversity and age of our housing stock, which means that the products on the shelf may not be suitable for many homes, and it should be noted that if the damper is of a poor size, in the open position, significantly reduces the chimney area, this can lead to smoking fire.
There are also many British fireplaces trying to navigate through the addition of a chimney fireplace. Despite the fact that many consider them "traditional", they are indeed a Victorian invention, suitable for smaller fireplaces, popular from this period. I lost count of the time when I was asked to look at smoking fireplaces and looked at the chimney to see a beautifully collected collection and a good-sized chimney that was drastically reduced to a level smaller than its area with an 8 "or 9" pot, which itself was often partially closes with slates or any other carriers that used the locksmith during construction.
The combination of turbulence caused by an abrupt change in cross section and the physical limitation of a small outlet often forces these fireplaces unnecessarily. Another common “problem fireplace” is the 3rd generous discovery, opened by large homeowners who think they have cleared the layers of history to find the original fireplace. What they did find was the builder’s discovery, which was never intended to work as a fireplace, but to accept a culinary range or a Victorian-style fireplace built with a chimney to match these more modest proportions.
In fireplaces, where the exit of the chimney is erroneous towards a low level, I would not advise installing a damper of the existing terminal. If access and planning considerations allow, open it and, if necessary, increase the stack or set up a larger bank, if needed, and install a damper while you are there. If not, try installing the damper assembly just above the fireplace.
Predominant chimney dampers have the advantage of keeping the birds and the weather from the chimney as well as keeping the chimney warm. On the other hand, problems of access and work at heights and the possibility of mechanical failure in the operating system "remote control". (usually a stainless steel cable or chain)
Fireplace dampers usually give you a fault-tolerant and visible mechanical opening and closing and can be installed without access to the top of the chimney, but deceptively difficult to design and install so that they do not contaminate the walls of the chimney when they open or excessively limit the output of smoke from the fire below. The fit is inconvenient and planted work ... and if there is no good bird on the top, the tops, knots and soot, displaced by weather and bird action, can accumulate to fall on the hearth when the damper is open. By the way, the grid stretched over the upper part of the chimney is not a bird guard. This is a perch / social convenience for our feathered friends who gather when they warm, divide, defecate and train the twing! A good bird guard has a smooth, durable, idealized angle (to shed rain / snow and do hard work) from above and with netted sides.
I look forward to the day when most houses in the UK will equip dampers with all open fires and predict that in the coming years these devices will become an integral part of a responsible and insightful home heating like a well-insulated attic or double glazed windows,
Chimney dampers cannot be installed on chimneys serving gas fires in the UK, and a gas fire cannot be installed on a chimney or fireplace with a damper if they are not operating inoperative. A solid fuel / wood-fire damper should not close if the fire is not burning and not cold!
