Fireplace inserts come in different sizes for large or small homes.

Take our quiz to learn more about fireplace inserts.

A fireplace insert is about 65 percent efficient.

To do that, it is usually necessary to install a fireplace insert or a wood-burning stove.

Fireplace inserts are designed to combat the heat loss from traditional wood-burning fireplaces.

The greatest increase in efficiency from an existing fireplace can be obtained by installing a fireplace insert.

Most people choose either fireplace inserts or stand-alone wood stove models, some of which are small enough to put on an existing hearth.

A Fireplace insert converts a wood-burning fireplace to a wood burning stove.

A fireplace insert is a self-contained unit that sits inside the existing fireplace and chimney.

Depending on size, finishes and decorative elements, fireplace inserts can cost $1,400 to $2,500 or more, not including installation or shipping.

Pellet stoves can be either free-standing units or fireplace inserts vented into an existing chimney.

The products at issue in this investigation are electric fireplaces and fireplace inserts designed to approximate the look of a real, wood-burning fireplace.

For serious attempts at heating, rather than mere ambience (open fireplaces), stoves, fireplace inserts, and furnaces are most commonly used today.

Also available are firebrick "splits" which are half the thickness and are often used to line wood stoves and fireplace inserts.

Because the cost of natural gas is expected to soar this winter, he has bought a fireplace insert, a wood stove designed to fit into an existing fireplace.

Tom Oyen, who is president of the Chimney Sweep Online (chimneysweeponline.com), a retailer of hearth products, said one option is a fireplace insert.

If you are one of those who love the look and warmth of a wood burning fireplace, you may want to consider an electric fireplace or electric fireplace insert.

Along with purely functional wood stoves and fireplace inserts, the company produces stoves with handsome decorative details like Gothic tracery, heraldic lions and lumbering bears.

Fireplace inserts are these days categorized primarily by the type of fuel used (natural gas, propane, EPA-certified wood, pellet and coal), though most people associate them with burning wood.

So why not make using your fireplace insert or stove even more convenient with this SkyTech S5310 Thermal Remote Control with Touch Screen and Plug-In Receiver.

Fireplace inserts are popular with people who have an existing open fireplace and chimney, since they significantly improve both fuel efficiency and heat output while also providing an attractive focal point to a room.

And despite a vast improvement in wood-burning stoves and fireplace inserts, and a proliferation of substitutes ranging from natural gas burners to videotape recreations, the war against wood smoke has accelerated in recent years.

Fireplace inserts are invariably made from cast iron or steel and most have self-cleaning glass doors that allow the flames of the fire to be viewed while the insulated doors remain closed, making the fire more efficient.

In the fireplace debate, the vocal minority - including Ms. Noyes - won, though it was mandated that high-efficiency catalytic converter fireplace inserts be used, and that the ashes be recycled in the communal garden.

Scott Dodson, sales and marketing manager for StovesDirect.com, an Internet retailer of heating appliances, said that a fireplace insert is basically a wood-burning stove placed partly into the fireplace opening, using the existing chimney to vent exhaust gases.