This means that a 1.5 kilowatt electric fireplace generating about 5,000 Btu will cost 19.5 cents per hour to operate. By comparison, a 25,000 Btu gas fireplace will cost 30.5 cents per hour to run on natural gas. With propane, the operational cost will be between two and three times that amount.
While gas fireplaces are cheaper in cost and installation than electric fireplaces, they add more to the resale value of your home. Gas fireplaces are inexpensive to run and provide a significant amount of warmth, which can greatly reduce your heating costs.
Operating a furnace for one hour at 75,000 -100,000 Btu cost a homeowner $1.12 - $1.49 based on last month's national average natural gas rate. By comparison, a natural gas fireplace running at 30,000 Btu per hour cost only 45 cents.
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.
Following the energy efficient electric fireplace study, the below reveals the running costs for electric fireplaces. Electric fireplaces cost $0.22 per hour, $7.58 per week and $32.50 per month to run, on average, in the US. As a result, on average electric fireplaces increase monthly US electricity bills by 28.3%.
What are the running costs of a gas fire? Gas is often much cheaper than other sources of heating – up to 70% compared to electric fires. This is because gas has its own source, whereas electric is heated via another source.
Heating Your Room
Flueless Gas Fire – 2kw – 10p per hour. Wood Burning Stove – 2.35kw – 23.5p per hour. Open Flame Wood Burner – 8kw – 80p per hour. Open Flame Gas Fire – 8kw – 40p per hour.
A regular gas stove does need a chimney or flue. 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.
Gas Logs are normally installed inside an open masonry fireplace. They may radiate heat in front of the fireplace, but they will not be able to heat an entire home.
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 use less gas than other traditional heating methods such as furnaces. The amount of gas that a fireplace uses is dependent on many factors such as the BTU rating, unit type, and how frequently the system is used.
Electric fireplaces can also heat a room faster and more efficiently than wood-burning fireplaces, and they're safe to use. These cost-effective heaters are also one of the most efficient ways to heat a room, which reduces energy costs. To find the best electric fireplace for your home, find a dealer near you.
The Short Answer
Yes, it is okay to leave an electric fireplace insert on overnight but it's best if you turn it off when possible. While it's not necessarily dangerous, it's important to observe basic safety precautions when using an electric fireplace.
While an electric fireplace may not increase the value of a property in the same way a gas fireplace can, a budget-conscious consumer can create a beautiful setting with a premium electric fireplace unit. This, in turn, can create a more desirable living space.
An overall rule for safe gas fireplace usage is to not let your fireplace—no matter which style—operate throughout the night. Unmonitored gas fireplaces can lead to dangerous, often fatal, outcomes.
Unlike wood-burning fires, gas fireplaces are efficient and return as much as “75 to 99 percent of a fuel's energy back as heat,” according to “This Old House.” Some gas fireplaces have built-in fans which can heat an entire room quickly.
Gas fireplaces are safe. But as with all gas appliances, they do produce carbon monoxide. If something goes wrong, carbon monoxide put the home's occupants at risk. It's not always easy to tell when theres a carbon monoxide leak.
You can install a gas fireplace without a chimney if you have either a ventless gas fireplace or you install a venting system. For gas fireplaces that need a vent, a direct vent system is widely suggested. Direct vents can be installed either vertically through the roof, or horizontally through the wall.
Gas fireplaces need to be vented by a chimney or other vent, unless you have a ventless gas fireplace. Ventless gas fireplaces do not need ventilation and are designed to burn cleaner with a lower flame that will not smoke. If your gas fireplace is not a ventless model, then it will likely need a vent of some sort.
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.