Risa

I think this is a common "trick" to help heat your home if the power goes out. Putting a pot over 4 tea candles doesn't change how much heat it produces. But it does slow down the hot air path, so instead of going straight to the ceiling it bounces around at lower heights. And you get a little bit of radiant heat from the pot, but see laws of physics. It's more about the distribution of the heat.