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If you have a fireplace, you have a hole in your roof. That hole, your chimney's flue, sucks the warm air from your furnace, fireplace, or
woodstove right out of your house.
Traditionally, a cast iron throat damper is placed inside your flue and is opened only when you are using your fireplace. But even brand new cast iron throat dampers are notorious for
letting heat leak out of homes. And older ones that have deteriorated, warped, or rusted allow that heat to gush out of your home.
Newer damper designs don't rely on a leaky metal-to-metal seal. Instead, they have a silicone rubber gasket that provides a true seal, keeping the warm air in your home and the colder,
winter air out. This tighter seal reduces energy loss by as much as 90% over conventional dampers.
These tight-sealing, energy efficient dampers are one of the most cost-effective additions to your home; they immediately begin to lower your energy costs. Most homeowners find they pay for themselves in energy savings in the first year.
Instead of being mounted inside your chimney, as traditional dampers are, the more energy-efficient styles are mounted atop your chimney or flue, like chimney caps. (Chimney caps are those mesh wire tops that affix to your chimney or flue and keep rain, snow, birds, and other animals out of your home. They also discourage downdrafts and stop fireplace sparks from escaping onto your roof or to nearby combustible materials.) Energy-efficient dampers can even be purchased as a combination damper and high quality chimney cap.
The two best known brands of energy efficient dampers are Lock-Top and Lyemance. We prefer the tidier appearance and easy-open power lever of the Lymance dampers.
If you
feel a cool draft on your feet when you stand near your fireplace, you can be sure your fireplace damper is letting your heating dollars escape through that hole in your roof. But an energy efficient damper is
an easy. cost-effective way to control your heating expense this winter as well as your air conditioning costs during the warmer seasons.
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