Once you have installed a wood-burning fireplace in your home, you can distribute the heat from the insert to every room and heat the whole house. A fireplace insert looks like the ideal solution: the house stays warm regardless of gas or electricity supply. But people weigh up the decision to buy a fireplace for months, because both the appliance and the firewood cost money, and before investing in fireplace heating a buyer wants to work out how efficient it is and how quickly the investment pays for itself.
In this article we share the rules and practical tips on how to save firewood in a fireplace and make heating with it even more economical.
How can you save firewood when heating a house with a fireplace?
Overall firewood consumption can be significant, especially during cold winter weather. However, there are several effective ways to save firewood and make the best use of the heat your fireplace produces. Here are the main ones:
1. Use dry firewood
Make sure the wood you load into the insert is thoroughly dry. Damp wood burns more slowly, dirties the glass and the flue and does not reach the required temperature in the firebox, which means fuel is wasted. Dry firewood guarantees more efficient combustion and lower consumption. The recommended moisture content is 15–20%.
2. Use compact logs
Use smaller, compact logs instead of large chunks. Thinner logs burn faster and more efficiently, releasing more heat.
3. Adjust the air supply
Modern wood-burning fireplace inserts let you control the airflow and retain more heat, reducing losses up the chimney and distributing warmth evenly around the room. All SAVEN inserts offer convenient combustion control with just one regulator.
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Manage the air supply to the fireplace to achieve optimal combustion. Too much air can lead to incomplete burning of the wood, while too little air results in insufficient heat. Experiment with the setting to find the right balance.
4. Keep the firebox door closed
Keep the fireplace door closed while the fire is burning. This helps retain heat in the room and prevents unnecessary firewood consumption. A closed combustion chamber is exactly what distinguishes a modern insert from an old open hearth, which sends most of its heat straight up the chimney.
5. Ensure proper ventilation of the room where the fireplace stands
Good ventilation helps avoid excess smoke and ensures more efficient combustion. Heat is carried from the surround into the room by ventilation grilles: supply grilles at the bottom, extract grilles at the top.
6. Choose an insert with a double deflector
A deflector helps control the airflow and ensures more efficient combustion, preventing heat loss up the chimney. A double deflector (fitted to all SAVEN insert models) lengthens the path of the flue gases, which increases the heat output of the appliance.
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7. Store firewood properly
Correct firewood storage also matters for saving fuel. Keep the wood in a dry, well-ventilated place, protected from damp and rain, raised off the ground on pallets or in a log store, and never covered with airtight film. This keeps the wood dry and ready to use.
8. Keep an eye on the fire
If you want to save firewood, watch how the fire behaves through the glass and load the firebox in reasonable portions rather than filling it to the top. Do not open the door to "check on" the fire while it is burning: the moment the door opens, the heated air leaves the room, the draught changes and the wood burns down considerably faster. Open the door only to add logs — and then close it again straight away.
What does it all come down to?
The overall approach to saving firewood in a fireplace is optimising combustion, controlling the air supply, using dry wood and storing it properly. With these simple rules you will make effective use of the firewood in your fireplace and save both fuel and money.
Enjoy the warmth and atmosphere of a real fire, knowing that you are using firewood efficiently and heating your home at minimum cost. If you are only choosing an appliance, start with straight steel inserts, corner inserts or steel fireplace stoves, and do not forget a properly sized chimney — with a poor flue none of the tips above will work.