Climate Change and Your Chimney
What do climate change and your chimney have to do with one another? The primary issue involves taking steps to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Simply put, this can be achieved by maintaining an awareness of your carbon footprint. Emissions from chimneys with high particulate matter have contributed significantly to pollution throughout history. That is why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put increasingly stricter emissions requirements on approved heating applications since 1970. The result has been that modern EPA-approved appliances are climate-change-friendly.
How to Lower Fireplace and Heating Stove Emissions
If you have an EPA-approved fireplace or wood stove that is up to modern standards, you have started off on the right foot. But you can only be sure that your chimney meets the demands of climate change with routine maintenance. Even without environmental consciousness in the mix, chimneys need to be maintained annually. Leading fire safety experts agree that annual chimney inspections are crucial, whether the chimney is used or not.
So, even if you have a heating appliance with low emissions, such as a fireplace insert, chimney maintenance is necessary. With every wood fire, creosote is deposited in the chimney liner. The amount of creosote buildup a fire contributes to the flue liner’s current collection is determined by various factors. The following conditions increase the amount of creosote deposited in the chimney flue:
- Low-burning fires that produce heavy smoke
- Burning green or unseasoned wood
- An oversized flue connecting a heating appliance to the chimney
Restricted airflow - Cool flue temperatures
What is Seasoned Firewood?
Burning the correct firewood is a huge part of meeting climate change standards for heating your home. When wood is first cut, it is typically bursting with moisture. It can take anywhere from 6 months to more than a year for wood to dry out to the recommended moisture level of seasoned firewood, which, ideally, is 15% to 20%. A simple moisture meter can help you determine what the moisture level is in your firewood. If the moisture content of your firewood is above 20%, you are burning unseasoned wood which will increase, rather than minimize, creosote buildup in your chimney.
Creosote is a tar-like, highly flammable substance. Experts say that chimney cleaning should be scheduled once 1/8” of creosote has built up in the chimney liner. Yet, expert chimney sweeps often find that creosote buildup has become a chimney obstruction. It is dangerous to use a fireplace when the chimney is blocked, and it also reduces the overall efficiency of the appliance so that EPA standards are no longer fully met.
An added problem that can also add to the pollution issue is that floating embers can cause creosote to ignite, starting a chimney fire. In most cases, chimney fires create heavy smoke and cause structural damage to the chimney.
Contact the Pros for a Climate-Change-Friendly Chimney
At Chimney Saver Solutions we appreciate the fact that our work contributes to cleaner air. Thus, we care about climate change and your chimney. If you have an outdated heating appliance that is far behind current emissions standards, contact us today. Our CSIA-certified chimney sweeps can help you choose from among the many styles of fireplaces and stoves that are up to current EPA standards. We offer fireplace installation, chimney inspections, chimney masonry repair, chimney cleaning, flashing repair, chimney cap installation, and every other chimney service that may be needed in the greater Richmond VA area.
Call Chimney Saver today or fill out our online form to make sure your chimney is climate-change-ready.
