If you're like me you can recall trips to grandparents houses and the experience of a wood burning stove. Though they aren't totally obsolete today, they are few and far between.  Anyone that can remember the experience can attest to their effectiveness to heat a room. In todays world however, the presence of a fireplace is more for aesthetics than functionality. Not a total surprise with the presence of central heat and air pulling most of the conditioning weight. That is until power is lost. 

**Location Location Location**

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The location of wood burning stoves, if you reflect was more in the center of the house as opposed to the current exterior wall of modern fireplaces. The design of the fireplace itself plays a big role in true heat emission. When it comes to this most builders are trying to minimize costs to increase profits and a fireplace does not get the attention it needs to be truly effective.

New Fireplace is not as Difficult as it sounds

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If you are looking to upgrade to a modern steel fireplace, this endeavor would probably be the most cost effective and more bang for your buck transformation you could make to your home. The question comes back down to effectiveness versus aesthetics. Keeping an existing fireplace and adding steel is the option. For functionality, a better design is likely required.

Design

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The cast iron material emitted heat to cover a room. The thought of a steel fireplace comes to mind in the effort to emit more heat, but just adding steel to the facade will not totally match the output of the wood burning stove. 

Like anything, the argument could go on and on. With the old school camp clinging to the wood burning and the moderns swearing by the modern look. Ultimately a true argument would come down to what you want out of your fireplace, and how much you want to spend.