How does a fireplace draught excluder work?

This fireplace draught excluder blanket is made of organic water-repellent fabric with wool wadding core for optimal draught-proofing. The powerful built-in magnets allow you to simply attach the blanket to your ferrous fireplace and create an air-tight seal to stop draughts, without needing to measure your chimney flue.

It’s a quick, hassle-free way to draught-proof your home and minimise heat loss from your chimney. It does the same job as our popular Chimney Sheep® product, by stopping around 95% of warm air from escaping up your chimney while still allowing for essential ventilation in your home. The main difference is that the Chimney Sheep acts as a hidden plug inside your chimney flue, whereas this fireplace blanket covers your entire fireplace to block draughts coming through.

How do I install a fireplace draught excluder?

The built-in magnets inside this fireplace draught stopper quickly snap onto any ferrous fireplace, with no need for fiddly measuring or installation. This means that it will work if your fireplace is made of cast iron or another iron metal alloy.

Our fireplace blankets come in two sizes, designed to fit most standard UK fireplace openings: 62cm x 50cm and 56cm x 86cm. Just measure the dimensions of your fireplace front to choose the right size, and don’t forget to account for the curvature of your fire surround.

Will this magnetic draught stopper work with my fireplace?

You can do a quick test to see if our fireplace draught excluder blanket will work with your fireplace. Simply take a magnet to your fireplace and if it sticks, your fireplace is magnetic and will work well with this product.

If your fireplace is not magnetic but you still want to enjoy the benefits of a convenient energy-saving fireplace draught excluder, you could use self-adhesive Velcro strips as an alternative solution to attach this blanket to your fireplace. Get in touch with us if you have any questions on how to use your fireplace draught excluder.

This is a brand-new product from Chimney Sheep™ that has been launched in response to our customers’ feedback and demands. We’re now in the Beta stage of testing our fireplace draught excluder blanket and are open to feedback. We have already updated the design and added more magnets to reflect the feedback we were given by customers.

If you find that our two sizes don’t work for your fireplace, simply provide us with measurements and we can consider creating a bespoke fireplace draught excluder for you!

What are the benefits of using a fireplace draught excluder blanket?

Because the blanket attaches to the front of your fireplace opening, it's ideal for homes where the fireplace is actively used. The blanket can be easily removed when you want to light a fire, then reattached after to block draughts. It's a more convenient and faster alternative to a Chimney Sheep, chimney balloons or other in-flue draft excluders, but they all do a great job of stopping draughts.

You also don’t need to measure the dimensions of your chimney flue to use a fireplace draught excluder blanket, which some people may find more convenient.

Which fireplace draught excluder is best for me?

Both our Fireplace Draught Excluder and Chimney Sheep products are great solutions for reducing heat loss and stopping draughts from entering your home. Deciding between the two comes down to weighing up your preferences and priorities…

The Fireplace Blanket conveniently attaches right to the front of your fireplace to instantly block draughts with no tricky measuring or installation required, but it does cover your entire fireplace. On the other hand, the Chimney Sheep draught excluder fits discreetly inside your chimney flue, keeping your fireplace visible and maintaining its aesthetic appeal. However, proper installation requires measuring the flue and fitting the Chimney Sheep correctly inside.

While the Fireplace Draught Excluder comes in a classic black colour to blend with traditional cast iron fire surrounds and not detract from your interior design, you might prefer our Chimney Sheep if you have a beautiful fireplace that serves as an integral part of your home décor. But if quick and easy draught blocking is your priority and you don’t want to measure your chimney flue, our Fireplace Blanket will be your best option.

How to reduce heat loss from a fireplace using a draught excluder

An open chimney is often the biggest source of heat loss in a house because they draw warm air out of your home all of the time, even when they’re not in use. In fact, an average of 80 cubic metres of air travels up an open chimney every hour - that’s like leaving a window open ALL the time!

This is not only a waste of energy and money, but it causes cold air to be pulled in from other gaps in your home, creating those cold draughts we often feel.

We Brits put a lot of effort into draught-proofing all these parts of the house when, in reality, the main thing is to draught-proof the chimney which will drastically cut out a lot of the other draughts and make the room feel much warmer and cosier. Read more about draught proofing on the Energy Saving Trust’s website.

No matter whether you decide to use our Fireplace Draught Excluder Blanket or Chimney Sheep® Chimney Draught Excluder, these nifty draught excluders are some of the best products to manage heat loss in your home!