Up to thirty percent of the energy you use to heat or cool your home escapes via your fireplace. This isn’t the heat that’s lost because you’re burning a fire in the fireplace, however the energy you are making use of for your principal heat source when there is no fire in the fireplace and the damper is closed. If you want to plug that energy loss, find a fireplace plug.

A fireplace plug is an inflatable pillow that effectively seals the chimney of your fireplace so that there is no heat loss by way of it. Although the pillow seems much like an inflatable swim toy, it’s made of a material that is resistant to the acids found in wood soot, so that it will last for an extended time.

Your firebox should be cool before inserting the plug. You need to be sure that there are no sharp openings in the chimney that might split the pillow. A scraper or brush can be utilized in order to eliminate creosote or soot in the area before inserting it. The pillow is simply lifted into the chimney opening and the handle adjusted to keep it in position.

While you will notice the difference in the next month’s heating or cooling bill, the comfort of your home will increase immediately.

If you want to have a fire, you merely take away the fireplace plug and open the damper. When the fire has gone out and the fireplace is cool again, close the damper and place the fireplace plug back into the opening. With your fireplace doors or screen closed, the handle that holds the plug in place is barely apparent.

You’ll save enough money off your first month’s energy bill to pay for the cost of the fireplace plug. Your home will no longer be as drafty, as the fireplace is no longer going to produce a vacuum that will pull cold air into your house through every crack it can find. Moreover, you have blocked the back drafts that come in via the chimney, bringing gusts of warm air in the summer and cold air in the wintertime. Your home will no longer be cold and drafty.

In the wintertime you can enjoy every bit of air that you have paid to heat in your home. In the summertime, you will find that your air conditioner is more efficient. There will be no more hot air and smoky smell filtering back into your home through the chimney.

A blazing fire on a cold winter’s night can be a delight, but if your energy bills increase because of hot air escaping from your fireplace, it can put a damper on your enjoyment. A damper isn’t enough to keep the warm air in your house; you need a fireplace plug.