Is a fireplace still useful in new buildings today - experiences?

Hello!

My wife and I are currently in the planning phase of our single-family home and are currently asking ourselves whether a fireplace still makes sense at all, although we would like to have one.

To elaborate a bit: we both grew up with a fireplace and have always found it very nice. A fire just has something special and the "pleasant warmth" is great. Therefore, it has always been clear to us that we would one day install a fireplace (with logs and open fire) in our house. Specifically, we would like to have a real eye-catcher integrated into a wall and visible from 2/3 sides.

Now almost every house builder has told us that this would no longer make economic sense in a modern house and would rather cause a problem with overheating. However, it would be possible with any of them. Even a fireplace company advised us against it. We are currently planning with an air-water heat pump and underfloor heating throughout the house (approx. 155sqm), which will be built according to KFW55 standards (timber frame). A wall-integrated fireplace would have around 8KW and thus far too much. If at all, we should only install a small freestanding one with max. 2-3KW if we really want one. But we do not like those at all because of their size.

When you think about it, I do agree with the arguments. In this constellation, you have a basic temperature of about 21 degrees in the house. So, you don’t need a fireplace anymore. The companies calculate about 500 euros for heating costs. A cubic meter of wood costs around 80 euros if you buy it ready-made. So, cost savings are basically zero. And the chimney including fireplace and everything would cost around 8-10,000 euros. And aesthetically, it will never become what we imagine. Without a fireplace, we would also not have a disturbing edge in the rooms and could place the doors better.

There is also a decisive experience: about a year ago we visited friends who had just built a new house and also had a fireplace. It was proudly lit even though it was already 22 degrees in the apartment (thanks to home automation and pellet heating). Although hardly any wood was put in and thus hardly any fire was visible (it mostly just smouldered), the fireplace roared away. After two hours, we had around 26 degrees and we sat in T-shirts (at -10 degrees outside) in the living room. Another hour later, our friends opened the windows at 29 degrees just before heat exhaustion. Conclusion: expensive heat, poor fire, which I then blow out the window!

What are your experiences with or your opinion on a fireplace in modern houses?

Many thanks in advance!

Regards

Steffen

There is also a life-changing experience:

Well, then you have experienced it yourselves already. You might light a fireplace during Advent, but it’s really not worth it. Fireplaces were popular forty years ago, back when houses had 30 cm thick single-layer solid brick walls and double-glazed windows were already trendsetters. At a blower door test back then, there would have been a hundred percent failure rate.

whether a fireplace still makes sense at all, which we would like to have

So you have to decide whether you want to make your head or your gut happy. Calling upon the factual level as the decision-making authority will only satisfy the head, and the gut will be sad. Just do it anyway if you want to – but from an efficiency standpoint, it is simply a luxury today.

This effect of overheating in the living room does not necessarily require a fireplace; just a few more people visiting are enough.

Anyone who wants a fireplace, simply wants one. You can also turn down the main heating a bit.

we have consciously decided against one. As Tom already said, a few people are enough to heat the place up even more. All in all, with storage and the associated "dirt," we are so glad to have the money in the bag

Hello,

so I have a stove at my place. However, I have a masonry heater with a water jacket. On the one hand, it takes 'forever' to warm up (about 2 hours) and then keeps the heat for a very long time (about 24-36 hours). When it’s warm and I want to add more fuel, I simply switch to the water jacket and channel the heat into the buffer tank, thus supporting my gas heating system to warm the rest of the house via underfloor heating.

The advantage of the masonry heater is its enormous mass. This prevents the room from overheating because the stored heat is released to the room only gradually.

Only about 1/4 of the energy reaches the room immediately through the glass, so you can control it well. However, my living room is accordingly large, so a bit of energy there is fine. I wouldn’t install it in a 20 sqm room.

My conclusion so far: I would do it the same way again. But today I would probably skip the water jacket. I included it because I wanted to be able to heat in the summer too, since the ambiance and staring into the fire are simply priceless to me.

And the cost discussion doesn’t need to happen for a 'want to have' item because you can always say ‘why build a house’ - it’s not profitable anyway. So IF this is a 'WANT TO HAVE' item for YOU then treat yourself to it, otherwise YOU will regret it forever. For the rest, there is always a solution!!