Gas fireplaces can also help you save on heating costs by providing warmth during unpredictable or “in-between” weather when it's not cold enough for the central heat, but you still need some warmth. 3. New gas fireplaces are incredibly efficient.
A modern furnace is more efficient in turning gas into heat than a gas fireplace. This means that although a furnace costs more to run per hour than a gas fireplace, it turns more of that energy into heat and can warm a whole house rather than a single room.
The National Center for Real Estate Research estimates that a fireplace can increase a home's value as much as 6-12%. For the investment, there aren't many other home improvement projects that will increase the home's value as much as a gas fireplace. An efficient gas fireplace can save on energy costs.
The Bottom Line: A Gas Fireplace Costs Less than You Think
Ultimately, it's not more expensive to install a gas fireplace compared to a traditional wood-burning fireplace or wood stove. While there are installation costs to consider, the annual cost to run a gas fireplace is pretty cost-effective.
Not at all. Using natural gas is one of the most inexpensive ways to heat your home. That's why gas fireplaces, gas fireplace inserts, outdoor gas fireplaces, even gas furnaces are such cost-effective heating options. Realistically, most gas-powered fireplaces will burn through about $1 worth of natural gas per day.
A gas fireplace offers a range of benefits over burning wood in your home, including the ability to instantly turn on, control and turn of the heat from the fire. The advantages of having gas fireplace can outweigh the disadvantages in many scenarios, making a gas fireplace a worthwhile investment for your home.
Do Fireplaces Actually Save on Heating Bills? The answer is while they can, they rarely do. Because only gas-insert and electric fireplaces are energy efficient, combined with the fact that homeowners need to use them strategically, most homeowners with fireplaces end up using more energy instead of less.
Why is my electricity or gas bill so high? There is a number of reasons as to why your energy bill is higher than you expected. These could include the bill being based on an estimated rather than actual energy use, inadequate insulation, a cold spell, having just moved to a new home and lots more.
Gas fireplaces are an efficient type of fireplace that are typically good at providing heat for the room in which they are located, and can be much more efficient and produce more heat compared to the existing masonry fireplace they replace.
While gas fireplaces don't produce creosote, they do still need annual cleaning. Both propane and natural gas are clean burning gas fuels, so they don't produce the same byproducts as wood, but they can still produce buildup that needs to be cleaned away.
Electric fireplaces are cheaper in cost and installation compared to their gas-burning counterparts. While most electric fireplaces do not heat a room as fast as a gas fireplace, they are cheaper to run compared to other types of fireplaces.
We recommend that you turn off your gas fireplace pilot light seasonally. Turning off your gas fireplace's pilot light can save a substantial amount of energy and money. It is important to remember that not all gas fireplaces have “standing” pilot light, or, a pilot light that is “always on”.
If a realistic-looking fireplace is the goal, gas is hands-down the better choice compared to an electric fireplace. A gas fireplace has real flames, and this is simply not a possibility with electric units.
Standard gas stoves
As gas doesn't produce any heavy smoke, as a wood burning stove would, they don't require you to have a Class 1 brick chimney – though they usually can be installed into one of these without any issues.
Ventless fireplaces are more energy efficient than vented fireplaces because no heat escapes up the flue, so you'll save money on gas utility bills. A vented gas fireplace uses more gas to create the same level of warmth because some of its heat escapes through the flue.
In addition, all direct vent gas fireplaces are sealed, keeping emissions out, and are vented to the exterior of your home using the natural buoyancy of warm air (warm air rises), meaning no electricity is needed to operate your gas fireplace or gas fireplace insert safely.
Vent-free or ventless gas fireplaces are a great choice if you are looking for the highest heating efficiency possible. Since they are not vented to the outside, all the heat produced is realized in the living space making them a superb supplemental heat source.
This increase is because the energy price cap, set by energy regulator Ofgem, increased by 54 per cent to reflect rising costs for energy suppliers.
While some homeowners have considered turning off their heat at night in an attempt to lower their heating bills, it generally is not recommended as a viable option. The fact is, turning your heat off at night creates more potential risk for your home and your family than it does savings on your energy bill.
Ventless gas fireplaces emit the highest amount of heat with 100% efficiency and are eco-friendly. They have the look and feel of a traditional fireplace, but don't require a chimney. Instead, heated air is recirculated around the room and back into the fireplace keeping the space warm and cozy.
The standard fireplace is among the most inefficient heating devices you can operate. In fact, it can be so inefficient that in some cases it actually makes your house colder.
Because burning wood releases about 75 percent more CO₂ than natural gas, efficient gas furnaces or fireplace inserts will emit only around half to two-thirds as much CO₂ per unit of heat as the best wood stoves, while natural gas emits far less toxic material than even the cleanest wood stoves.