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How it works

What is a Chimney Balloon®?

A Chimney Balloon® is an inflatable chimney draught excluder that reduces heat loss through a chimney and cold air draughts from other parts of a home.

Having an open chimney is like leaving your window open all the time. Fitting a Chimney Balloon® to an open chimney is like fitting the gap with double glazing. The Chimney Balloon® is designed to inflate and push against all four walls of the chimney, holding itself firmly in place. The Chimney Balloon® isn’t stretchy like a party balloon, but it has double walls which enable it to keep its pillow shape when it’s inflated. There is a small vent in the side of the product which allows some airflow, permitting your chimney to “breathe” and ensuring damp doesn’t occur in your property.

A Chimney Balloon® is a great home energy saving measure. Installing a Chimney Balloon® in an open chimney flue will reduce chimney draughts making your home feel warmer without your heating having to work harder.

What is the stack effect?

As we mentioned above, chimneys will actively pull air out of your home regardless of whether you have a fire on or not. The amount of air that gets pulled our of your home depends on something called the stack effect (also known as the chimney effect). The stack effect is essentially the movement of air into and out of a building or chimney. The rate at which this gets pulled out of the building depends on how tall the chimney is and the difference in temperature inside and outside of the building. The taller the chimney and the larger temperature difference (cold outside and warm inside), the greater the volume of air getting pulled out through the chimney. Once the air has been pulled out of the chimney it has to has to be replaced. It is often pulled in from other gaps in a building such as gaps in skirting boards, doors and windows.

The stack effect is a double whammy – a house is not only losing warm air but it also ends up with more cold air. This is why rooms with fireplaces are often the hardest to heat and keep warm.

Without a Chimney Balloon®

Open chimneys are more often than not, the biggest source of heat loss in the home. Your chimney acts like a giant syphon, pulling warm air out of the home and causing cold air to be pulled in through leaky parts of the building. This is called the stack effect (you can read more on this below). The average home with a chimney draws 80 cubic metres of air out of a building per hour – that’s the volume of a 44 tonne lorry trailer!

With a Chimney Balloon®

Fitting a chimney draught stopper like the Chimney Balloon® stops the stack effect. By blocking the chimney, you are cutting off the stack effect, retaining warm air and noticeably reducing cold draughts. Being effectively a double barrier with the top and bottom of the balloon, air is trapped inside, insulating the chimney against cold air sinking down, while simultaneously preventing warm air from rising up.

The benefits of using a Chimney Balloon®

Keeps heated air in

By blocking the chimney with a Chimney Balloon®, it stops warm air from inside your home escaping up the chimney. This results in markedly warmer and cosier rooms.

Reduces cold draughts

By a Chimney Balloon® stopping the warm air escaping up the chimney, it also stops cold air being pulled in through other leaky gaps in the property.

Reduces energy bills

According to the Energy Saving’s Trust, installing a chimney draught plug will save you an average of £65 per year, PER CHIMNEY!

Acts as sound insulation

Chimneys can act as an amplifier for noise outside be that wind, traffic or fireworks. By blocking off the chimney with an inflatable chimney draught excluder, this reduces the noise amplification.

Prevents debris and wildlife from falling in

With chimneys being open at the top, lots of debris and wildlife can find their way into the hearth. A Chimney Balloon® creates a physical block to prevent this.

Reduces weather ingress

Damp coming through your chimney from rain and other inclement weather conditions? A Chimney Balloon® will help to reduce this!

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