When we were designing the floor plan for our new home, we decided to put a wood burning fireplace in the family room. We love the ambiance that a traditional wood burning fireplace gives, and our goal was not to use this fireplace as a primary heat source. It has recently become time to start looking at the fireplace choices, and I was surprised to see relatively few choices.

If you take a look at the Home Depot or Lowes websites, you will find that they don't offer a single wood burning fireplace. They have several wood burning stoves, but those are definitely more for heat than looks. They have several gas models available, but to us, gas just doesn't compare with a real wood burning fireplace.

So I started wondering, "Why aren't there more choices for wood burning fire places?" A little investigation leads me to believe that there are fewer options available because certain areas have enacted laws and/or bans regarding wood burning and the smoke that it produces. It seems like this process should be relatively carbon neutral because the carbon released through burning would be the same as if the tree just laid on the ground and decayed. So the issue appears to be smoke and smoke particles.

Newer wood burning stoves and even some of the newer wood burning fireplaces are EPA certified to only allow a certain amount of particles into the air. Unfortunately, an EPA certified fireplace has the look of a wood burning stove and not a traditional fireplace. Additionally, these EPA certified fireplaces are primarily used for a heat source. Therefore, they have thick doors to close and little viewing area.

So, should I feel guilty about choosing a standard wood burning fireplace? Our house will mostly be energy efficient (efficient windows, geothermal heating and cooling, etc.), so having a standard fireplace wouldn't be that bad. Besides, I will probably light less than 20 fires a year and they will most likely only last a few hours. If I'm building my fires correctly and using the right woods, it will minimize my smoke output.

You can't be green all the time, just minimize the amount of time that you can't.