thinking about getting a fireplace insert. I like the aesthetics of an open hearth but the inefficiency and draftiness makes me rarely want to light a fire.
@dthompson I have family with both styles. The insert will still throw heat without a blower on, just less efficiently. If you have space for a stove (and don't mind losing the hearth) then that does have the benefits you mentioned. Though we did try boiling water for tea on a couple of them, but if the stove is not specifically built for it, it's difficult/impossible to get the water temp nearly high enough. It is enough to warm water to improve humidity, though.
@keverets I don't mind losing the hearth at all. I just don't like the tile used currently so I'd want to swap it out, but that's just aesthetics. the freestanding stove will give me something to place a peltier fan on, and a bunch of the models I've been looking at have a griddle on top but that's admittedly the lowest priority feature.
@keverets wood. my home already has an efficient gas heater (converted from oil a few years ago). I'd like to offset the cost/environmental impact of that with a wood burning stove. since I started looking into this, I learned that freestanding stoves can be placed in open fireplaces so now that's also an option. a freestanding stove will provide much better radiant heating, doesn't require an electric blower fan so I can have heat during power outages, is compatible with a peltier fan that uses the heat from the stove to power it, and depending on the model it could come with a single burner for heating up tea or maybe even cooking every now and then.