Are you practi-frugal? If you want the flexibility to design your
hearth your way, but you also demand the most in home efficiency,
then yes, you are practi-frugal.
• How Flue Sentinel solves fireplace inefficiencies
• Flue Sentinel pays for itself - - how?
• Average household energy expenditures
Flue Sentinel not only appeals to your discriminating taste for
the luxuries of premium homes, but it also fulfills your practical
and frugal needs for home efficiency and value. You want the perfect
balance of style and smart investments for your home –especially
when it comes to designing your fireplace. With a gas log fireplace,
you can achieve the natural look of a real wood-burning
hearth while avoiding
the drawbacks of a real fireplace such as hauling wood and messy
ashes.
Why is the new Flue Sentinel such a breakthrough product? Because
it’s rare that a home product addresses design wants and efficiency
needs equally.
By mounting Flue Sentinel
at the top of your chimney: |
| • |
You increase the heat efficiency of your
fireplace, |
| • |
You no longer need to open or close the
flue by hand (and no waiting until the next morning), |
| • |
You no longer need glass doors to retain
heat in your home which means you gain endless design
options for the hearth décor, and |
| • |
Optimizing energy use brings you cost savings
on your heating and air-conditioning bills each month. |
|
Average Annual Household
Energy Expenditures
(Source: Technology Fact Sheet, "Energy
Efficiency Pays", Department of Energy Web site,
www.eere.doe.gov)
2003 Average American Home Size: 2,200 sq ft |
|
Flue Sentinel
pays for itself. |
| • |
The payback on your investment occurs through
cost-savings on your energy bills each month. |
| • |
The average American family spends $1,291 on
home energy per year; the cost is more depending on your lifestyle
and climate (Dept. of Energy, March 1999). |
| • |
Flue Sentinel can save you up to 30 percent
on your home heating and air-conditioning bills. |
| With Flue Sentinel: |
| You keep more heat inside the home and inside the flue in
winter, and more cool air inside the home in summer. |
| You eliminate the cold draft associated with an open fireplace. |
| You use less energy to maintain preferred temperatures in
the home |
| Your flue is always closed when your fireplace is off, (no
hole in your house) trapping more heat in winter and more cool,
conditioned air in summer. |
| You eliminate air infiltration. |
| You’re no longer treating or cooling the outside air. |
What’s Your Chimney Flue I.Q.?
Find Out How Flue Sentinel Solves the Inefficiencies of the Fireplace
“THE PURPOSE OF THE FLUE in a chimney
is to create a draft–a current of air –which carries
off the byproducts (fumes) from the fire and simultaneously creates
a partial vacuum within the house. The draft itself is caused
by the difference in pressure resulting from the weight difference
between the hot flue gases and the cooler outside air. The strength
of the draft depends on the chimney height, flue size, and temperature
difference between the flue gases and outside air. “
- Taken from “How to Design and Build a
Fireplace” Copyright © 1977 by Stanley Schuler
| A cold flue will take
time to warm up. A warm flue will readily draft
all the products of combustion. So when your flue is cold
at start-up, it will take time to warm up. In the meantime,
those products of combustion can enter your home. |
| • |
Many people start up their fireplace,
notice that it’s not venting properly and combustion
products enter the room. So they open a window. The open
window, of course, allows heat to escape as well. |
Once your flue is warm, your flue will vent or “siphon”
ambient air from within your home for hours after you turn off
your fireplace. As long as your flue is warm, and your chimney
is open, your fireplace will continue to siphon. As that air
goes up the chimney, it needs to be replaced from within the
home. Since your flue has created a vacuum, air can enter your
home through any means possible: small cracks in the walls next
to windows and doors, even through other venting systems such
as the stove. When this happens, it’s called “air
infiltration” and it is a major cause of heat loss and
drafts. Flue Sentinel eliminates this condition by closing this
“hole” in your home. |
| FIREPLACE FACTS
| Did you know… |
| • |
76% of homeowners believe the fireplace
increases the value of their home. |
| • |
In 2001, more than 900,000 gas fireplaces
were installed in new homes in the United States.
|
| • |
64% of homeowners use their fireplace
mainly to create atmosphere (versus heat). |
| * From
the HPBA Fireplace and Freestanding Stove Usage
and Attitude Study (March 2003) |
|
|
 |
 |
| A cold flue does not vent properly
upon start-up of your fireplace. |
| At start-up, there is cold air in the
flue blocking the warm air and products of combustion
from venting through the chimney, and forces it into the
living space through the firebox. |
|
| Flue Sentinel ensures a warm flue
and enhances proper ventilation. |
| At start-up, there is warm air in the
flue. Gas combustion products are properly vented up through
the flue, escaping through chimney. |
|
| FLUE SENTINEL creates a more
natural draft condition, providing for immediate, proper
drafting, and can save your chimney from needing repair in the
future. |
| • |
Because the Flue Sentinel is located
at the top of the chimney, warm air is trapped throughout the
length of your flue, so when you first ignite your
gas logs, your flue is warm and your fireplace will draft naturally
and properly. |
| |
A cold flue allows products of combustion to
condense and this can damage and deteriorate your masonry chimney. |
When you consider all of the efficiencies and safety benefits of
Flue Sentinel, and the fact that it pays for itself, it’s
easy to see why this breakthrough technology is a necessary investment
for your home. |
