Close the damper when the fire is extinguished. This will prevent the heated air from escaping through the chimney and will keep water and other debris out of the flue.
The damper should be kept closed when there is no fire or coals burning. Warm air from your home will not be lost up the chimney when the fireplace is not being used. Fully open the damper before your start a fire and keep it fully open until all embers and coals have burned out.
To create fires that produce more heat, open the damper as wide as possible when lighting a fire. A wide-open damper will increase the amount of air reaching the fire and improve combustion. As a result, the fire will burn hotter.
It's best to keep the flue closed when the fireplace is not in use. Should it stay open for too long cold air, debris, rain, and even animals can make their way inside your home.
Should You Leave the Damper Open or Shut? This concept is simple: you should leave your damper open on your wood-burning fireplace until all the embers are extinguished, but leaving it open overnight is definitely not efficient. Cold air will float down the flue and make your home cold, increasing your heating costs.
Leaving embers in the fireplace overnight is not safe. It presents a fire hazard as embers can reignite and cause fires if left unattended. Always extinguish embers completely before going to bed to prevent potential fire risks.
First, ALWAYS ensure the damper is fully open BEFORE lighting the fireplace. Otherwise, you and your home may be covered in soot and ash if the chimney back puffs. The damper has notches, so you can partially close it (throttling), like a manual stick shift in a car.
Keeping the flue open when a fire is burning ensures that smoke is safely expelled, preventing it from re-entering your home. Conversely, closing the flue after the fire has been extinguished helps retain the warmth generated within your home.
Also, some wood burning fireplaces have a lever to open or close the outside air vent to the fireplace. If your fireplace has this lever (usually located on the left inside panel) make sure the outside air vent is in the open (or up) position. The outside air kit is designed to provide additional air for combustion.
Glass doors should be fully open when starting a fire and when the fire is burning strongly. The glass doors should be closed as the fire dies down to minimize the amount of room air going up the fireplace chimney.
Evenly distributing small pieces of wood throughout the fireplace will increase air circulation and speed up the burning of the wood. This creates a sustainable fire, but the wood burns faster. Placing large logs closer to the fireplace will keep the fire burning longer between refills, maximizing heat output per log.
Actuator operated fire dampers are equipped as standard with a thermoelectric fuse, that activates the closing of the damper after the reaching or exceeding the ambient temperature of 72 °C. The actuator power circuit is interrupted and its spring closes the damper blade within 20 seconds.
How to Do It: Wait until all embers have extinguished and the fireplace is no longer warm to the touch. Closing the damper too soon can trap smoke and carbon monoxide inside your home, creating a dangerous situation. Safety Tip: Always double-check that the fire is completely out before closing the damper.
In the summer, a closed damper helps to keep cool, air-conditioned air inside the home where it belongs. 2. In the winter, when you're not using the fireplace, a closed damper helps to keep cold air from swirling down into the house.
In the summer, it's critical to open the dampers on the upper level and block as much air from entering the basement as possible. If you have someone to assist you, one simple method to see whether the dampers are open or closed is to have someone go up and cover each vent with their hand.
If you still want more heat, close the vent a little more (about halfway). Closing the damper too much could create a downdraft, causing your home to fill up with smoke and harmful contaminants.
The damper and flue are two different parts, but they are related and involved in the same function. The flue is the inside tunnel of your chimney that brings gases from your fireplace out of your home, while the damper closes or opens the access to the flue.
Use the Damper to Control Heat
Depending on how far open or shut you have the damper, your fire will be smaller and cooler (and burn for longer), or larger and hotter (and burn more quickly). The damper is usually located at the bottom of the stove.
HVAC Damper Open Or Closed In Summer/Winter
In most homes, dampers going to the upstairs are open in the summer and closed in the winter. By closing the dampers to the upstairs in the winter, it allows for the heat to rise naturally after first being introduced into the lower levels of the home.
The answer is yes in most cases – we recommend closing your damper when your fireplace is not in use. The only instance where you should keep your fireplace open is if you have a set of gas logs. In this case, keeping your damper open prevents carbon monoxide poisoning.
The fireplace damper should always be in the open position whenever you have a fire in the fireplace. Never close the damper or leave the fireplace unattended while there is a fire in the fireplace. This is not only a fire hazard, it can also cause deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.
There is a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning when you sleep in a room where a conventional coal or gas fire, a log burner, a cooker, or a back burner is left on overnight. You cannot feel the early symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, so it is important that you protect yourself.