Romantic, cosy, aesthetic, hypnotic… the fireplace has become something more than just a traditional source of heat. Today’s stoves and fireplaces combine efficiency, easiness of use and design. Classical, rustic or contemporary, open or closed, fired by pellets, gas or bioethanol… and now we don’t have to choose between aesthetically pleasing and performance.
A fireplace with a burning fire irradiates happiness and warmth into our home. Winters in Menorca are no longer as icy as in the past but nevertheless, we cannot imagine our home without heating to keep us warm, inviting us to rest and relax. When deciding to install a fireplace in a house, we must first decide what we will need it for. If we dream about a fireplace with an open fire, for example, we can have some wonderful Sunday afternoons in front of the fire, but this system cannot be considered as a heater due to its low performance, of between approximately 10 to 15%.
If our house is well insulated, we can think about the fireplace as the main source of heat because there are closed models, which send the heat to all the rooms. Whether wood-fired, or with pellets, gas or ethanol, their heating power is guaranteed. In recent years pellets have taken over as a substitute for logs due to their high performance and for being easier to clean compared to wood.
One of the least-known fireplaces is the ethanol-fired one, half way between a heating system and traditional fireplace. This type of fireplace does not require a chimney and functions, as its name indicates, with ethanol, a fuel produced from distilled beetroot or cereals. Once lit, the flames can reach a height of thirty centimetres, with orangey tones, recalling the flames of a traditional log fire.
