#Inspiration
TV above the fireplace?
Is it possible to place the TV above the fireplace? Is there a risk of damaging the device? In this in-depth article we explain in detail all you need to know for an optimal and risk-free installation.
In order to obtain an efficient result, a little foresight must be taken into account. This will depend on:
* Dimensions and heat output of the fireplace
* TV dimensions
Before describing the what-to-do “recipe” it is important to understand why this foresight needs to be adopted.
It is therefore important to understand in which way a fireplace warms the environment up:
KEY CONCEPT: Warm air rises
Transfer of heat usually happens in 2 ways: convection and/or radiation.
A traditional wood burning fireplace warms the room up through radiation: the combustion attracts cold air from the air inlet and from the environment. This air comes out from the chimney.
Warm air does not come out directly from the fireplace though, otherwise we would also get the smoke.
SO HOW DOES IT HEAT THE ROOM?
Infrared radiations that come out from the fireplace hit the room’s surfaces and warm them up, which, in turn, warm the air up. From the fireplace there is no emission of hot air.
In bioethanol fireplaces, though, there is no chimney, so the air warmed up from the fire comes out, at a considerable temperature, from the upper part of the fireplace. As per the concept highlighted before, this warm air goes immediately upwards, touching the vertical wall.
For the convection principle, the rising air warms up everything it encounters. If a TV is on the way it will damage it permanently.
For this reason, it is necessary to put a barrier between the fireplace and the TV that moves the hot air flow onwards, over its dimension.
This barrier can be obtained in different ways:
* NICHE | Move the TV back into the niche
* SHELF | Place a fireproof shelf between the fireplace and the TV.
* TV-SAVER | Instal our heat deflector TV-Saver. (Click here for details)
The lenght of the shelf and the Heat Deflector TV-SAVER will depend on the size of the TV.
Please take into account that the shelf/deflector must be:
* 20 cm larger on each side compared to the TV
* Placed right under the TV or the soundbar, if any
* Installed 20/30 cm away from the fireplace
CONVECTION AND THERMAL RADIATION, IN SHORT, FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO DEEPEN THEIR UNDERSTANDING:
Convection harnesses the phenomenon as per which a fluid (water, air,gas…) expands and rises attracting the cold air flow downwards, when heated.
Examples: a hot water pot, a hot air balloon, a radiator OR any heating system which requireS air heating.
The typical flaw is to have very warm air close to the ceiling instead of having it below, unless you have a forced-air circulation system or underfloor heating.
Thermal radiation occurs through electromagnetic waves, emitted from a source, the waves turn into heat when they hit a surface.
These waves only slightly warm up the air they pass through and they move in a straight line.
Examples: the sun, in particular the infrared rays of its light, the light emitted from a burning fire, the infrared rays heaters that can be found outside public premises.
The typical flaw is feeling the part of the body which is hit from the warm radiation hot and the other side cold. As soon as the emission stops (even by putting a panel as a barrier) the feeling of heat stops immediately.
For those who would like a more in-depth explanation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_radiation
