Choosing Between Gas and Wood Burning Fireplaces
January 20, 2016
A fireplace adds ambiance and value to your home. When a person imagines their dream house, the house typically includes a comfy home that keeps you and your family warm in the winter, either with a smoothly running heating system or gathering around a cozy fire.
It’s hard to resist the enticement of of a warm fire, but how do you pick between a gas or wood burning fireplace? There are many points to consider when deciding how to heat your home.
Aesthetics and Efficiency
- Wood: A wood burning fireplace typically wins in the sensory category. You get the crackle. You get the pop. You get the chance to roast marshmallows indoors. Something you don’t get is a powerful heating source. Wood fires typically receive up to a 15% efficiency rating, much lower than a furnace that has consistent service performed. They do reach high temperatures, but most of that heat disappears up the chimney. Wood burning fireplaces not only lose the heat coming from the fire, but it also pulls warm air from other parts of the house up and out the chimney.
- Gas: There have been many aesthetic advances in gas fireplaces. The flames have become more realistic and some versions offer diverse adjustments in height. The logs used in gas fireplaces now more closely favor the real thing and come complete with flickering embers, which don’t force you to wait while they burn out. You can easily switch your gas fireplace on and off, giving you more control over room temperature and frees you from having to keep an eye on your fire. The lack of fire stealing oxygen gives gas fireplaces a 75% to 99% efficiency rating. Imagine the level of comfort you could have when you combine that with a fully maintained furnace.
Air Quality and Maintenance
- Wood: Air quality is important to all homeowners. Burning wood produces air pollution in and outside your home and the smoky wood odor that a wood burning fireplace gives off could be hazardous to your health. Wood also creates a byproduct called creosote that lines the coating of the chimney and must be removed by a professional chimney sweep. Much like furnaces that should have furnace service completed consistantly, gas fireplaces also require consistant cleanings of embers and spent logs.
- Gas: Gas fireplaces only require a bit of dusting every now and then and are practically maintenance free. It is suggested that you get your gas fireplace cleaned and adjusted once a year by a professional to keep it working both safely and smoothly.
