[wswartzwel]

I have an Englander insert in my fireplace. Inside is lined with firebrick, with a blower that pushes air under the firebox up the back and out the top into the living room where the fireplace is located. Once I get a nice bed of coals going I can fill it with wood once a day, throttle everything back and set the fan to low and it will keep the house comfortable. If I close the bedroom doors though they will get cold. I have noticed that if I keep a pan of water on the top the air does not dry out as much, but still we have more sinus issues when using wood heat. It is dusty, and requires messing with wood. Our city owned utilities are quite inexpensive compared to most, so we usually just use the electricity to heat the house.