When you think about your outdoor fireplace or fire pit, you probably picture using it in the winter to cozy up and keep warm.

It makes sense, but have you ever thought about using it year round? If not, you’re missing out.

7 Great Reasons to Use Your Outdoor Fireplace:

1. Summer nights can get chilly.

Winter isn’t the only season that brings on the cold. If you experience cold summer nights, you’ll enjoy gathering around an outdoor fireplace even in the middle of June.

U.S. states like Washington and Oregon experience plenty of cold with just a few warm months out of the year.

Some of the coolest summers in the U.S. happen in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Rochester.

Other places that stay cool during the summer are Alaska, parts of Russia and Mongolia, and of course, Canada.

You can bet people in these countries have outdoor fireplaces and probably use them on a daily basis.

2. Some fire pits double as grills.

Have you ever grilled outside in the summer?

Of course. Who hasn’t? Barbecue grills and pits are useful, but they’re not that fun to look at.

The only people who will gather around your grill are hungry people wondering when the food will be ready.

When you get a barbecue grill that doubles as a fire pit, you can actually invite everyone over to sit around the fire as the food cooks.

3. Outdoor fireplaces are relaxing.

If you’re into meditation, you know how relaxing it is to stare into the flames of a fire and allow your mind to be carried away into nothingness.

It’s a refreshing feeling to meditate while staring into a fire.

You’re relieved of all the stresses of the day and it’s easy to lose track of time.

If you’re going to sit on your porch during the summer to meditate, you may as well light up your outdoor fireplace and stare into the flames.

4. An outdoor fire won’t overheat your body in warm weather.

If you normally host outdoor gatherings in your backyard during the summer months, firing up the flames can add ambiance to your gathering without overheating you and your guests.

The lack of heat from an outdoor fireplace is unfortunate during cold weather, but consider it a blessing in warm months.

5. You can simulate a camping trip.

Nothing beats a real camping trip, but if you can’t take a week off to head out into the woods, an outdoor fireplace or fire pit will make you feel like you’re camping in your backyard.

If you have kids, take them on a backyard camping adventure by setting up a tent and spending the night outside.

The warm weather will be ideal for camping and adding a fire is just icing on the cake.

The best part about camping in your backyard and using a fire pit is that you won’t need to worry about starting a brush fire, disturbing the ecosystem, or trying to build a fire that leaves no trace.

6. You’re a fireplace addict.

If you’re a fireplace addict, you don’t need a logical reason to use your outdoor fireplace year round.

There’s nothing wrong with being addicted to sitting in front of a fireplace.

In addition to creating a sense of calm, the infrared heat produced by the flames is extremely therapeutic to the body.

The therapeutic effect of infrared heat brings up the next reason to use your outdoor fireplace or fire pit regularly.

7. Fire produces infrared heat.

When you build a fire, you’re generating infrared heat.

Infrared heat is critical to life. It’s produced by the sun, but also by the flames in your fireplace, provided you’re burning real wood and not using a gas fireplace.

Although most people know that infrared heat is absorbed deeply by the skin and retains warmth better than convection heat, there’s another reason infrared heat is superior, it turns the water in your cells into batteries.

This process allows the body to distribute life sustaining electricity to all of your cells.

In other words, your body is literally powered by electricity generated by infrared heat.

Sitting around an outdoor fireplace, even in warm weather, is a great way to recharge your physical body.

You don’t need a reason to enjoy your outdoor fireplace

Although there are plenty of good reasons to use your outdoor fireplace year round, you don’t need a reason. If building a fire in the summer makes you feel good, there’s no reason to hold back.