[Greenbuilding] eco fireplaces

[Tom]

As others have said, there is no eco-responsible open hearth  
fireplace.  From the research I've done, a well designed masonry  
heater really seems the way to go, and with the clear ceramics  
available you could have a reasonably sized window for the 'ambience'  
factor.  However masonry heaters are typically only fired for an hour  
or so at very high temp. twice a day (once in the am, once in the  
pm).  They also aren't so great for a weekend place which you'll want  
to get warmed up pronto as they'll take some time to start giving off  
heat.  If you have a fossil source you could crank that up to get the  
place warm then turn down once the masonry heater starts to give off  
heat.  Less efficient, but not too bad are some wood stoves- they'll  
heat the place up quicker, and many have good-sized windows.  They're  
expensive, and the log size is inconveniently 'euro' sized (14" vs.  
16"+ for american logs), but the Morso stoves are nice.

If the house is rural northeast (I'm guessing from your NY address)  
personally I think pellets make no eco sense at all.  The area has  
plentiful fuel wood which should be sustainable if responsibly  
managed.  Better to get a cord felled and chopped locally than a  
processed industry waste product created and trucked from who-knows- 
where.

Of course if you really want to be hip you'll have to say 'to hell  
with eco' and put in one of those ridiculous 'vintage mod' wedge- 
shaped Preway fireplaces....  Pointless, dangerous, ugly.... but all  
the rage.