Direct Vent Fireplace

Basics

• A Fireplace which uses Air from outside for Combustion Air and exhausts it outside
• While vertical chimneys exist, the more common/ideal version vents horizontally through a wall, and uses Countercurrent Heat Exchange with the hot exhaust air heating up the (cold) intake air, this improving efficiency
• The lack of reliance on Negative Pressure (via the Stack Effect in a conventional Fireplace+Chimney, or most Fireplace Inserts also integrates well with houses running at a Positive Pressure Ventilation mode (Such is best practice for most modern, well sealed Passivhaus type designs where the main “leak” is through intentional Roof Penetrations / Building Envelope Penetrations such as a Energy Recovery Ventilator or Heat Recovery Ventilator (rather than through Drafts under Doors/Window Frames etc)

Internal Links

• Fireplace Inserts
  • A type of improved fireplace that can be installed new, but is mainly meant as a retrofit for Existing Conventional Wood Fireplaces
    • The simpler versions are similar to a Log Lighter / Gas Fireplace Starter, while the more complex units are more akin to DVFs (Insulation, Countercurrent Heat Exchange, Being Enclosed, Safety Features etc)

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Direct Vent Fireplaces
• Regency Fireplace Products - Fireplace Insert vs Direct Vent Fireplace