A fireplace adds personality and value to your home. When a person imagines their perfect house, the dream typically includes a comfortable home that keeps you and your family warm in the winter, either with a smoothly running heater or snuggling around a cozy fire.
It’s hard to resist the temptation of a warm fire, but how do you decide between a gas or wood-burning fireplace? There are many points to consider when deciding how to make sure your home stays warm through those cold, winter months.
Aesthetics and Efficiency
- Wood: A wood-burning fireplace typically wins in the experience category. You get the crackle. You get the pop. You get the opportunity to roast marshmallows indoors. Something you don’t get is an effective heating source. Wood fires usually receive up to a 15% efficiency rating, much lower than a furnace that has routine service performed. They do generate a lot of heat, but most of that heat is released 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 the chimney.
- Gas: There have been many aesthetic advances in gas fireplaces. The flames have become more realistic and some versions offer various heights. The ceramic logs used in gas fireplaces now more closely favor the real thing and come complete with glimmering embers, which don’t force you to wait while they simmer out. You can simply switch your gas fireplace on and off, giving you more control over your home's temperature and frees you from having to tend to your fire. The lack of fire stealing oxygen gives gas fireplaces a 75% to 99% efficiency rating. Imagine the level of comfort you could achieve when you pair that with a well-maintained furnace.
Air Quality and Maintenance
- Wood: Air quality is crucial to all homeowners. Burning wood generates air pollution in and outside the home and the smoky wood odor that a wood-burning fireplace exudes could be hazardous to your family's. 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 annually, gas fireplaces also require regular cleanings of ashes and spent logs.
- Gas: Gas fireplaces only require a bit of dusting every now and then and are just about maintenance-free. It is recommended that you get your gas fireplace cleaned and adjusted yearly by a professional to keep it running both safely and smoothly.
If you are interested in converting your wood-burning fireplace into a gas fireplace or you simply need to schedule seasonal furnace service, please call us at (866) 963-7996 or schedule an appointment on our website. Our experts will have you cuddled up by the fire in no time.
