Does a fireplace need a fresh air vent?
Does a fireplace need a fresh air vent?
Fire requires oxygen, so any fireplace with real fire from a source such as wood or gas requires a renewable supply of incoming air. This is often referred to as “fresh air,” though the IRC also calls it “combustion air.”
Why does my fireplace have an outside vent?
An outside air source is a vent that provides fresh air to feed the fire.
Does gas fireplace need fresh air intake?
Natural vent gas fireplaces don’t need any special air intake arrangements and simply take air from the room it’s located in to feed oxygen to the flames.
Where does a fireplace get air from?
Hot air from the fire rises through the chimney, making room for fresh oxygenated air to enter the fire. This flow of air into the fire and up through chimney is necessary to keep the dangerous gases produced by the fire from filling the house.
What is an outside air kit for fireplace?
An outside air kit provides additional combustion air to the fireplace that feeds the fire with oxygen from outside your home. This will help the performance on any fireplace installed in tightly-constructed or well-insulated home.
Where is the fresh air intake?
In many homes the fresh air intake is simply an open duct ran from an outside vent into a basement, or any room housing the home’s furnace. Fresh air intakes can be in multiple locations throughout your home, especially in newer homes built to modern building codes requiring homes to be much tighter than older homes.
What are the vents on the front of my fireplace?
Blower – Old-Style Heatilator Fireplaces utilize a blower to circulate warm air throughout the room. A blower increases fireplace efficiency by evenly distributing warm air throughout the home which maximizes the performance of your fireplace thereby ensuring that it increases the amount of heat it gives off.
What is the vent at the bottom of my fireplace for?
A fire crackling in the fireplace adds to the ambiance while the heat it generates helps to warm the area. A closed vent can cause smoke to billow into the room, but using the fireplace vents properly ensures enough air feeds the fire and the smoke escapes up the chimney.
Should a gas fireplace have a vent?
Gas fireplaces need to be vented by a chimney or other vent, unless you have a ventless gas fireplace. Ventless gas fireplaces do not need ventilation and are designed to burn cleaner with a lower flame that will not smoke. If your gas fireplace is not a ventless model, then it will likely need a vent of some sort.
Do old furnaces have fresh air intake?
Since high efficiency furnaces draw air directly from outside, the furnace itself does not require a fresh air intake in order to replace inside air that otherwise would have been drawn from the room the furnace is located in.