It’s not very practical to make use of an open fireplace to heat your home and then make that fireplace an entry point for cool air that comes from the outside. However, there is a solution to this often-repeated issue, some easy while others are more complex. Start by understanding the chimney and fireplace system. It’s an open system intended to create an open drafting pathway for fumes and toxins to be released out into the air outside. If you’re experiencing cold air coming out of your fireplace, you’ll be faced with two options:

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• Stop the air from entering your home
• Make more heat from your fireplace

Keep the cold air out:

The fireplace damper is the first protection against cold air entering your home even when the fireplace is not lit. Dampers must be closed tightly, obstructing all air over them. If your damper has been damaged, warped, or affected, the cold air from the flue’s upper part is likely to pass through it. In addition to the typical throat damper, which is situated just below the flame box, some put a top-sealing damper high up on the chimney, to increase the protection. Another way to stop cold air from entering your home is by using the use of a chimney balloon, or plug. These are installed above the throat damper and then inflated to block all the air from getting into the fireplace. They are intended for use only in situations where the fire isn’t lit. If you start the fire using an inflatable balloon, it will instantly deflate.

Install a strong fireplace insert:

Fireplace inserts are factory-made and are sized correctly to fit in the firebox of your current brick fireplace. Inserts are insulated to the highest degree and have their own high-efficiency venting systems. Ratings of heat efficiency of 85 percent or more are standard for inserts. This implies that the bulk of the heat that the unit generates will be used to heating to heat your home. (Compare this to the rating of 20 or 10 percent for open-masonry fireplaces.)