Fireplace damper testing graph
Chimney Balloon USA had a certified energy rater test to see what sealed a home tighter… a metal damper, fireplace glass doors, or a Chimney Balloon.
Who: A third party Focus on Energy certified energy rater (Mark Furst with Grading Spaces Inc) did a blower door testing sequence on a ranch home of 1200 square ft. Mark is certified with Focus on Energy and also with Resnet.
What: The test home was a 1200 square foot ranch style home with a basement. It had one zero clearance fireplace with a 9″ flue and a flapper style metal damper. The fireplace also had a set of tempered glass bifold doors. The home had R-50 cellulose insulation in the attic, R19 fiberglass insulation in the walls. Eight R2 windows and three steel and solid wood exterior doors.
When: The test was performed in Wisconsin in August of 2008.
Why: To see if the Chimney Balloon was better at stopping cold air infiltration than fireplace glass doors or metal Chimney dampers. The test was run on a very small zero clearance fireplace with the minimum size chimney vent of 9″ tube. This chimney and damper is the smallest flue and damper possible for a conventional fireplace. Therefore the savings represent the lowest levels of energy savings you can expect.
According to the results, the Chimney Balloon helped the home save 27% more heat than if the damper was open and the glass doors were open.
The Chimney Balloon saved 15% more heat than the metal damper alone.
The Chimney Balloon saved 6% more heat than the glass doors alone and even worked better than the damper and glass doors combined.
Here is a link to the complete report from the energy rater after he conducted the testing.
http://www.chimneyballoon.us/f/GradingSpaceschimneyballoonreport.pdf