A good way to do that with an existing fireplace is to install a fireplace insert that confines the blaze in a tighter space and controls air flow, improving efficiency dramatically. An insert's cost usually depends on the age of the house in which it is installed. Dennis Brokamp of Hearth and Home, an East Syracuse firm specializing in wood, gas and wood pellet stoves and fireplaces, says newer homes with modern fireplaces normally come with prefabricated boxes that are small and never intended as the home's primary heating source. Older homes with traditional masonry fireplaces have bigger boxes, offering more options. No matter how you cut it, an insert is going to save on fuel costs over the long haul, especially with today's skyrocketing fuel prices.
Most inserts come with a lot of glass, enabling the household to watch combustion taking place.
Nothing's free, and that's the price of control. No way around it. Even today's most efficient heating appliance, the wood-burning stove, operates relatively quietly. You still get some muffled popping and crackling, and even the thud of shifting logs. And the stove itself creaks and rattles while warming up, but quiets down soon afterward.