It’s widely agreed that installing a chimney flue liner can help cut down on your energy bills. However, few people truly understand how and why this works. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of the benefits that a chimney liner installation can offer you. We’ll start with how it saves energy, but we might list a few extra benefits as well.

Key Takeaways

  • A chimney flue liner is a flexible metal tube that fits the length of your chimney.
  • A flue liner helps to save money on energy bills by:
    • Preventing or reducing downdrafts, thereby preventing the home from becoming cold when there’s no fire burning.
    • Improving airflow, helping to improve fuel combustion efficiency and saving money spent on fuel.
    • Making it easier to light fires thanks to the improved updraft.
    • Reducing the heat lost through the chimney flue, ensuring that the gases flow smoothly and that the appliance doesn’t work as hard.
  • A chimney flue liner can:
    • Increase the value of your home.
    • Help prevent the buildup of creosote, soot, and other combustion byproducts.
    • Prevent cost-heavy problems requiring repairs or replacement.
    • Reduce the cost and process of chimney maintenance.

What Is a Flue Liner?

If you’re not familiar with a flue liner for the chimney, let’s define it quickly. A chimney flue liner is a flexible metal tube that extends down the length of a chimney. Typically, it attaches to a chimney hanger at the top of your chimney and then runs down the chimney to the fireplace.

However, if you’re using a free-standing appliance like a wood-burning stove, the flue liner will attach directly to the stove pipe. In an open fireplace, the liner connects to the flue gather hood.

The whole point of the system is to ensure that the combustion gases flow freely through the system. By installing this element, you can rest assured that your chimney functions at optimal efficiency.

What Does a Chimney Flue Liner Do?

A chimney flue liner installation serves a range of purposes, including compensating for the size of modern woodburners. Generally, stone chimneys are too large to accommodate modern wood stoves, causing an increase in condensation and creosote buildup. By adapting the internal diameter of the liner to the size of the wood stove, you can prevent this.

Other advantages include the following:

  • Protecting your chimney’s masonry from combustion gases and acids.
  • Helping to prevent leaks
  • Reducing creosote buildup
  • Reducing maintenance requirements

There are many other purposes and benefits of chimney flue liners, but we’ll discuss them below as we look into how chimney flue liners save money on energy bills.

Improved Draft and Combustion

In the case of woodburners especially, using the right flue diameter will give you the advantages listed above. One of the functions of a chimney flue liner is to improve the draft and combustion efficiency of the fireplace or appliance. Because the flue liner is smoothed, when properly installed, it doesn’t provide any resistance. As a result, smoke and hot gases can flow freely through the liner.

The reduction in friction leads to an improved draft, which results in a more complete burn. When your fireplace or appliance burns more of the fuel, it leads to a lower fuel bill and to better heating, which lowers your energy bill.

Reduced Heat Loss

When you install a metal chimney flue liner, the air between the liner and the stone chimney serves as an insulative barrier that helps to prevent the loss of heat from the fireplace or appliance. By doing so, the flue liner helps to ensure that the gases stay warm while they rise.

The act of keeping the gases warm helps ensure that the gases stay buoyant. This, in turn, gives you assurance of good airflow. Having a good draft helps to ensure consistent and efficient combustion, which again cuts down on the fuel required by the system.

Reduced Downdrafts

Another thing that a chimney flue liner installation can offer you is a decrease in the number of downdrafts. Thanks to the insulation, a chimney flue liner nearly eliminates the downdrafts that sometimes come down the chimney when there’s no fire in the fireplace or appliance.

This benefit means that there’s less cold air infiltrating your home when a fire isn’t lit. As a result, you save money on energy bills because you don’t need to counteract the cold temperatures caused by unwanted downdrafts.

Secondary Benefits

In addition to the above points, there are several other advantages to using a chimney flue liner. Below, we’ll discuss some secondary advantages and benefits that can be gained from installing a chimney flue liner within your home.

Prevention of Costly Problems

Installing a flue liner in your chimney doesn’t just cut down on your energy bill; it also helps you save in a range of other ways. One of the ways it does this is by helping you to prevent problems that would be costly to repair.

For instance, a chimney flue liner can help to prevent the buildup of creosote. Creosote is a flammable byproduct of combustion, and a buildup thereof can lead to chimney fires. So, chimney flue liners can help reduce the potential of chimney fires and all the costs involved with replacing and repairing the items lost or damaged in such an event.

A properly installed chimney flue liner will also seal any cracks in the chimney, preventing the flow of carbon monoxide into your living area. This will help prevent the need for expensive medical expenses to treat carbon monoxide-related problems.

It will also prevent dirty condensation water from migrating out of the chimney, leaving dirty stains on your walls.

Increasing Home Value

One unexpected result of a chimney flue liner installation is that it can help improve your home’s value. A fully functioning, well-maintained fireplace can help to improve your property value. And, since chimney flue liners help make it easier to preserve and maintain your fireplace in a working condition, installing a liner is a direct contributor to your property’s value.

Another aspect of this is that you can use a chimney flue liner to help upgrade your old, leaky chimney. By doing it this way, you spend much less than you would if you had to replace or repair your existing stonework chimney.

Of course, if you were so inclined, you could always install a new chimney flue that runs up through the roof (or through the wall to run up the exterior wall of your home).

Reduced Maintenance Costs

Unlined chimneys require regular maintenance, some of which are quite expensive. Some of the things that a chimney liner installation helps to remove or eliminate include the following:

  • Creosote and soot buildup, which needs to be removed more regularly in an unlined chimney.
  • Damage to mortar and brickwork due to acidic chemicals and gases, which would require occasional repair

Increased Lifespan of Appliances

Chimney flue liner installation can help to increase the lifespan of appliances like wood-burning stoves. It does this by helping to reduce the amount of stress placed on the appliances.

It can help provide lower operating temperatures by ensuring the appropriate amount of draw. This helps to ensure that the fire burns neither too little nor too much. By moderating the temperature, you can ensure that the appliance is working within its optimal temperature range.

Having a chimney flue installed can also help minimise the general wear and tear on both the chimney and your appliances. It does this by shielding the chimney from the acidic and corrosive gases produced during the combustion process. By improving the airflow of the chimney, the liner helps to ensure that none of the combustion gases stay in the appliances, where the gases can cause corrosion.

Easier Lighting of Fires

A chimney flue liner helps enhance the chimney effect and ensures good airflow, making it easier to light fires. The key is to use and light the kindling before adding the rest of the fuel.

By making it easier to start fires and improving air circulation, a chimney flue liner also reduces the amount of firewood and kindling required to start and sustain the fire.

But, the monetary advantage isn’t the only benefit to be gained from this application. You also get to save money and energy because you don’t need to invest as much time and effort into lighting the fire.

Conclusion

Installing a chimney flue liner may seem like a fairly low-key thing to do. And many people don’t fully appreciate the value that chimney flue liner installation can bring to your home and business.

However, as you’ve seen above, there are many different benefits to installing this kind of equipment. Not only does it help you save energy, but it helps you save money in several other ways as well.

It can also help to preserve your appliances, chimney, and home from a whole range of different problems and damaging possibilities. So, if you’re ready to install a chimney flue liner in your home, have a look at our flue liner kits.

If you’re unsure which product you’re looking for, take advantage of our wealth of experience. Contact us directly, we’ll be more than happy to help you.