Energy Use Inside and Outside the Dwelling – 2007 Survey of Household Energy Use – Supplemental Report

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Energy use inside the dwelling

Fireplaces

More than 40 percent of Canadian households reported that their dwelling had one or more fireplaces. However, the penetration rate for fireplaces varied by region (see Figure 21).

In 2007, the penetration rates of fireplaces in the eastern regions of Canada were generally lower than in the western regions. British Columbia and Alberta had the highest penetration rates, at 63 percent and 59 percent respectively. Quebec had the lowest penetration rate, at 26 percent. The difference in penetration rates between British Columbia and Quebec (37 percentage points) illustrates how the prevalence of fireplaces varied across Canada. These regional differences were also observed in the types of fireplaces installed in Canadian households.

Gas fireplaces

Gas fireplaces¹¹ are noted for their clean-burning characteristics. Compared with wood-burning fireplaces, natural gas and propane fireplaces produce less carbon monoxide and particulate emissions. As discussed in the SHEU-2007 Summary Report, the penetration rate of gas fireplaces has been increasing over recent years.

Among households with a fireplace, almost half had a gas fireplace in 2007 (see Figure 22). From a regional perspective, the majority of households with a fireplace in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario had a gas fireplace. Quebec and the Atlantic Region had the lowest penetration rates, at 17 percent and 25 percent respectively. Moreover, the use of gas as an energy source was less common in Quebec and the Atlantic Region.

Wood-burning fireplaces

As discussed in the SHEU-2007 Summary Report, the penetration rate of wood-burning fireplaces has been decreasing over recent years. By 2007, these fireplaces were as common as gas fireplaces across Canada (see Figure 23). As with gas fireplaces, the regional penetration rates of wood-burning fireplaces varied.

Quebec was the only region where more than 50 percent of households with a fireplace had a wood-burning fireplace (65 percent). Manitoba-Saskatchewan was the only other region where, among households with a fireplace, 50 percent of households had a wood-burning fireplace. At the other end of the spectrum, only 40 percent of households with a fireplace in British Columbia had a wood-burning fireplace. This low penetration rate is not surprising, given that British Columbia had the highest penetration rate for gas fireplaces among households with a fireplace.

Electric fireplaces

Another type of fireplace now available to households is the electric fireplace. Unlike a gas or wood-burning fireplace, an electric fireplace does not house an actual fire within its enclosure. It does, however, produce heat and a visual rendering of a fire when in use.

SHEU-2007 found that electric fireplaces were not as prevalent in Canadian households as gas or wood-burning fireplaces (see Figure 24). However, a meaningful percentage of households did use an electric unit. As with gas and wood-burning fireplaces, there was a large variance in the penetration rates for electric fireplaces among the regions.

In the regions, among households with a fireplace in 2007, the Atlantic Region had the highest penetration rate for electric fireplaces (29 percent). In contrast, only 10 percent of households in British Columbia reported that they had an electric fireplace.

An electric fireplace is designed to provide heat and an aesthetically pleasing image of a burning fire. When households were asked about the primary purpose of their electric fireplace, 43 percent said it was aesthetics (see Figure 25). Only 23 percent of households with an electric fireplace responded that the primary purpose was to provide heat. The remaining households across Canada with an electric fireplace (34 percent) reported that the primary purpose of their fireplace was for heat and aesthetics.

¹¹ Includes natural gas and propane fireplaces.

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