Expert: James Ball - 6/14/2009

Question
Are there any combined fireplace inserts/ home ventilation systems out there?  It seems a waste to not utilize an existing chimney and heat the incoming air at the same time.  The chimney is an 8" pipe and a pellet stove needs only 3" to vent, or an electric one doesn't need any venting.  My primary heat is a base-board hot water system so adding a home ventilation system to the house is going to be a bit more difficult than with a typical forced- air system.  I live in an extremely cold environment, so sealing the house and having a heated ventilation system would be an advantage.

Answer
Hello Irene, there are lots of choices, stop by your local wood stove stove, inserts and wood stoves have fan assists and can help circulate that heated air through the house, same with pellet and natural gas or propane stoves. and then there is green energy (other experts...lol)
before installing any thing (or using) a fireplace I would have a local Certified Chimney Sweep (www.csia.org, there you can look up by zip code to find one near you) take a first hand look at what you have they should be able to help.
Hope this helps
James