Many people use their fireplaces to save on heating costs during the winter. As a rule, this is a good move just as long as they don't forget about safety. But it's not uncommon for people to realize that they're not getting the heat they expected from their fireplace.

In reality, many people will sense that the room becomes colder if the fire is going, and they have to hover near the fire to stay warm. This leaves many wondering how other houses with a fireplace get that toasty warm feeling throughout.

The answer is both simple and complicated all at the same time. If you're experiencing an unusual chill in other rooms when you have your wood burning fireplace running, you simply need a fireplace heat exchanger. That's the easy part of the answer; the more complicated part is understanding exactly why you need it.

Indeed, an unenclosed wood burning fire will devour a good portion of the air in your house that was already heated to room temperature. When your fireplace utilizes that air, it also replaces it, but unfortunately it will be with cold outside air. That's why the rest of your house is colder when a fire is burning in one room.

The good news is that all your really need is a fireplace heat exchanger to solve the problem. If you install a heat exchanger along with some glass doors, you can get rid of that cold air throughout your house.

If you have an open wood burning fireplace, a heat exchanger is essential; it's unfortunate that so many people don't realize this. In the end, they end up staying cold or wasting more time and money trying to heat a house that is always being hit with cold air from the outside. Without this most valuable of fireplace accessories, the homeowner is basically fighting a never-ending battle, one that they will never win.

A fireplace heat exchanger will cost you somewhere around five hundred dollars. Plus, if you don't install glass fireplace doors, you'll just end up wasting the money you spent on the heat exchanger.