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.
In general, you should not run an unvented fireplace for more than three hours at a time. If you are using natural gas, you can usually run your fireplace for up to four hours before needing to refuel. If you are using propane, the limit is typically two hours.
Using Your Gas Fireplace at Night
DON'T leave the unit on overnight. DO leave the flue open so that excess carbon monoxide is vented. The main concern with a gas-burning appliance is the exhaust of carbon monoxide and leaving the unit on overnight is simply risky.
Yes, gas fireplaces are one potential cause of carbon monoxide poisoning. While there are many potential sources of such exposure, including certain appliances and devices, motor vehicles and wood stoves, gas fireplaces are a common culprit.
Is it safe to leave the pilot light on all the time? Generally speaking, it is safe to leave your continuous pilot light on at all times, assuming it stays lit (more on this in a moment). While it does cost more to keep your pilot light on in between uses, it can actually have some benefits to your system.
Nearly every new gas fireplace comes equipped with safety features such as a 100% fail-safe shut-off valve. If the pilot flame goes out, the gas flow will automatically turn off. Another safety device is a safety pilot.
Although convenient, these home gas fireplaces pose significant risk of explosions and house fires if they are improperly installed or maintained. Gas Fireplace leaks can result in carbon monoxide poisoning, but can also result in explosions that can level an entire neighborhood block.
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”.
Your Utility Bill
Perhaps the most important reason to turn off gas fireplace pilot light in summer is because of the money and energy you will be saving. If you leave the pilot light on during the summer it is simply sitting there burning gas, which is wasting gas and contributing to an exorbitant energy bill.
Turning off your pilot light is a simple process that will save you both energy and money. All you have to do is open the front of your fireplace, turn the Pilot knob to “off,” and then turn your gas shutoff valve to the “off” position as well.
A little heat is produced when your pilot light is on so turning it off in summer can help reduce the heat inside your home. The less heat there is, the less you have to use your air conditioner needs to cool down the house. You can get savings and conserve energy if you turn off your pilot light.
Gas fireplaces are far safer than their wood-burning counterparts—no matches, no smoke, no sparks, no backdrafts, no soot—but that doesn't mean owners should ignore basic precautions.
Home fires are caused by gas oil heat burners as well as alternative heating sources such as wood stoves and fireplaces. When a gas furnace is poorly maintained, the most likely consequence is a house fire.
Traditional gas fireplaces, like their wood-burning cousins, require an exhaust flue (vent) to remove harmful fumes from the home. When possible, an existing chimney is used to run a new flue, but in a home without a chimney, the high cost to install venting can sideline the project permanently.
The most likely cause of this problem is that wiring is burned or shorted out. Two low voltage wires extend from the remote control receiver to the gas valve, and perhaps from a separate toggle switch to the gas valve.
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.
The glass doors should be closed as the fire dies down to minimize the amount of room air going up the fireplace chimney. When burning gas logs in a wood-burning fireplace, the glass doors should always be fully open when the gas logs are burning.
When installed, ran, and maintained properly, gas logs and gas fireplaces are safe to use. Just like any other gas appliance, there are risks when using them due to the gases and fumes that are released.
If a bedroom has a gas or wood-burning fireplace, then there should be a carbon monoxide detector in it as well. This applies even if there is one in the hallway outside of the bedroom.
All fireplaces should have an additional safety barrier or screen in addition to a glass cover. Keeping this screen clean and intact helps ensure no wondering toes or hands can come in direct contact with the hot glass cover. Make sure your glass cover is free of any debris before lighting a new fire.
Along with overall energy efficiency, it is important to consider exactly how much a gas fireplace burns per hour. Based on the currently available models, gas log sets burn anywhere from 60,000 – 90,000 BTUs of gas per hour. On the other hand, the more efficient gas fireplaces use 10,000 – 70,000 BTUs/hour.
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.
The little flame you see in your gas fireplace after you have turned it off is called a pilot light. A Standing Pilot Light runs constantly, whether your fireplace is on or off.