Get cosy with eco-friendly fireplaces

Ethanol
Ethanol is derived from the fermentation of sugars contained in certain vegetables, including beets and sugar cane, some grains, such as wheat and corn, and potatoes. Ethanol fuel, therefore, is a clean and renewable energy source. Instead of emitting smoke or particle pollutants, its combustion releases only water vapour. Consequently, ethanol is used for gas fireplaces, which don’t need a chimney flue. An ethanol fireplace can be placed anywhere in the household and used as a piece of furniture, in keeping with its primary use as a mood appliance. However, with a heating capacity of 9,000 BTUs to 13,000 BTUs (depending on the model), it will only heat a space of roughly 46 square metres, at a cost of three 890-millilitre containers of ethanol (at roughly $10 each), enough to last an average of three hours. Which raises the question: How can an appliance be deemed eco-friendly when its sole purpose is to give pleasure (the pleasure of gazing at a flame) and the fuel it uses is so expensive to produce?

Eco-friendly logs
Whether they’re made up of wood residue or spent coffee grounds, the so-called “eco-friendly” synthetic fireplace logs are said to produce fewer atmospheric pollutants than natural wood. Dry and dense, they burn more efficiently, producing less smoke and therefore generate few toxic by-products. They also boast other eco-friendly virtues: They recover industrial sawdust as well as spent coffee grounds from restaurants, waste products that would otherwise end up in municipal dumps and produce greenhouse gases as they decompose. The use of synthetic logs also reduces the number of trees that are cut down. On the other hand, synthetic fireplace logs manufacture greenhouse gases, just as natural logs do.

But, in fact, the principal eco-friendly thing about synthetic logs is that they’re made of residue. What’s more, some logs are ignited while still inside their glossy packaging. Burning any packaging of this kind is highly ill-advised, as the glossy paper contains paraffin and various kinds of residue. Even worse, these reconstituted logs tend to break apart easily, increasing the flame’s surface area and overheating the heating appliances. Some manufacturers, therefore, prohibit the use of synthetic logs in their appliances out of a concern with overheating and the potential damages resulting from it. Paraffin-based firelogs in particular give off so much heat that they can only be used in traditional open fireplaces.

TO FIND OUT MORE
The Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT)
www.oacett.org

Office of Energy Efficiency
www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca

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