Inserts

A wood insert does for wood what a gas insert does for gas: it turns an open, inefficient fireplace into a controlled heater. An open masonry fireplace is famously bad at heating, and Natural Resources Canada notes many actually cause a net heat loss by drawing warmed room air up the flue. A wood insert closes that opening and puts the heat back in the room.

This is the option for people who genuinely want to keep burning wood but want real heat from it. If the hauling and ash are the problem rather than the fuel, look at a gas insert instead; our wood-to-gas guide compares them honestly.