Keep heating costs down

Faced with rising heating costs, many Canadians are looking for alternatives and less expensive ways of maintaining comfort in their homes during the winter months. By choosing an electric fireplace or a wood stove, homeowners are able to add ambience and warmth to their homes while keeping their heating costs down. Consider the options and benefits available to you.

Electric Fireplaces

Bring comfort and warmth to any room

Create a warm hearth for your home with an electric fireplace. They can be used wherever there is an electrical outlet to provide an instant glowing transformation, without the construction and maintenance of a masonry fireplace. Just plug them in, turn on, and enjoy! Plus, they’re available in a wide selection of styles and finishes – to complement any décor.

Energy savings

With an electric fireplace, you can save energy costs by turning down the central heating and warming the room you are in. Most electric fireplaces have a 1400-1500W heater that will heat up to 400 square feet. Or if you prefer, turn off the heater so you can enjoy the beauty and ambiance of the fire year round. With the heater switched off, an electric fireplace uses only as much electricity as a 60W bulb. An electric fireplace is more economical to purchase than a conventional wood fireplace and costs only pennies an hour to run. It does require some assembly, but there is no installation - just plug it in and enjoy!

Use the formula below to calculate the hourly cost of running any of our fireplaces in heating mode.

(Fireplace wattage) x Your electricity rate (¢/kWh) = cost/hour (¢/hr)
         1000

e.g. (1500W) x 7¢/kWh = 11¢/hr
        1000

*TIP: Electric fireplaces and stoves are safe to use in children’s rooms. Heat the room they are in or leave it on as a stylish nightlight.*

Wood Stoves

Wood stoves offer an affordable alternative to rising heating costs. In addition, heating with a wood stove offers secure warmth in the cold months, regardless of electrical power interruptions.

There are two types of wood burning stoves at Canadian Tire: "airtight" stoves and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) approved stoves.

"Airtight" wood stoves

"Airtight" wood stoves provide an affordable choice for occasional use and can make an attractive addition to a living room, family room or cottage. They run at a maximum of about 30% efficiency, which means that 70% of the heat potential of the wood you burn goes up the flue (chimney), so they may not be the most practical choice for frequent users.

EPA wood stoves

A high efficiency, EPA-approved wood burning appliance is designed to produce more usable heat than a non-EPA stove of the same size while using less wood. Because of its design, the heated gas and particulate matter generated by the stove burn more completely. The efficiency of an EPA-approved wood stove means that it uses approximately 65% less wood to generate the same amount of heat as a non-EPA stove of the same size.

Because of higher efficiency, EPA-approved wood stoves are more environmentally friendly. The amount of particulate matter that escapes into the atmosphere is substantially less than with non-EPA wood stoves. In addition, EPA stoves generate less creosote due to the efficient combustion process. Creosote is the leading cause of chimney fires.

Heat Circulation

A wood stove supplies radiant heat, warming the areas close by very well. However, to use this heat more effectively, it is important to have devices in place to circulate the warm air. Canadian Tire has several types of products such as ceiling fans that can help with this.