Gas Fireplace and It’s Advantages

There is no getting around it. An electric fireplace insert offers you many more advantages than wood burning, pellet or gas fireplace inserts. A electric insert has many unique qualities that just cannot be found in other heating units. Many people today would much rather use an electric insert than deal with the problems and work that surround traditional fireplaces and gas fireplace inserts.

First of all, electric inserts are extremely easy to install and they can be moved to wherever you need them most. They don’t need a chimney to operate making them a convenient way to put warmth anywhere in your home. They can be mounted on walls so they take up very little living space. Many of them are hand-crafted so that they actually become part of your home furnishings. They are designed to match your home’s decor to a tee.

To install an electric insert, you don’t need to be a journeyman electrician. All you really need is a screwdriver, hammer and basic wrench. The wall mounted models will require a little more knowledge on your part but the freestanding models require only that you know how to plug them into an electrical outlet! How hard can that be?

Another important advantage of electric fireplaces is that they fit in beautifully with the environment. There is no need to burn wood from trees that have had to be cut down and the insert will not emit any dangerous carbon dioxide fumes into the air. Its efficiency is amazing because it uses very little electricity, much less than a standard electric furnace. Over the course of many months, you will see a substantial savings in your monthly electric bills.

An electric fireplace insert will give you many years of pure enjoyment and relaxation. You will sleep better knowing that you haven’t left smoldering logs in your fireplace. You won’t have to worry about how you’ll pay those increasing energy bills. You will have peace of mind knowing that your family is warm and content. You will be their super hero in the fire making department and even your teenagers may want to stay home with their parents occasionally!

By: Matt Murren

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Best Gas Fireplace Inserts

Wood burning fireplaces typically are highly inefficient. The basis design of a fireplace places the chimney or flue directly overtop of the firebox. This leads to the vast majority of the heat leaving directly through the chimney without radiating throughout the room. To combat this inefficiency, wood burning fireplace inserts were designed and manufacture red. Simply put, an insert is basically a unit placed inside your existing fireplace that allows the fire to be produced inside of a closed box and air is circulated around it emitting warm air into the home. By using a firebox or insert, less of the heat escapes through the chimney and more comes into your home.

Although the concept of fireplace inserts is a fairly simple one, the installation is not something recommended to a do-it-yourselfer. The installation is not complicated; this is one for the pros. Think about it, you are building a fire in your home…not something to learn from your mistakes with. A professional installer will be able to accurately assess the condition of your existing fireplace, chimney and cap ensuring after the wood burning fireplace insert is installed there will be little chance of fire. Also, many insurance companies will require you, the homeowner to provide documentation of professional installation and inspection.

When making the decision whether or not to pursue installing a fireplace insert, consider the following advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:
- Inserts, whether wood, pellet, or electric, make your fireplace in most cases 50% more efficient
- Modern designs have many selecting inserts for aesthetic purposes
- Generally safer to operate, as flames are kept inside the firebox
- Inserts provide a more consistent temperature output

Disadvantages:
- The beauty of a roaring fire within a room is lost.
- Depending on your taste, less aesthetically pleasing
- Initial cost of installation

Another consideration is installing an electric, natural gas, or pellet burning insert. Each of these three options will omit the labor associated with the firewood process. In other words, the cutting, splitting, stacking, seasoning, carrying, and cleaning up after firewood. The true beauty of the electric and natural gas models is there is zero labor required with the fuel source. All required of the user is to turn it on and enjoy, but the utility company will be kind enough to send you a bill for their hard work. The pellet burning models use wood pellets which are much denser than firewood and provide a great deal of heat from a small amount of pellets. Unfortunately, pellets will required at a minimum the scooping into the insert’s firebox and maybe even some hauling and unloading depending on how you purchase pellets.

Taking all of the information above into account, fireplace inserts are recommended if your fireplace is the primary heat source in your home. Increases with efficiency and less fuel to burn for equal heat makes a great deal of sense. On the other hand if your fireplace is primarily ornamental, an insert in all likelihood will destroy the ambience of your fireplace. Also, do not discount the potential conversion to alternate fuels instead of wood; the long term total costs may be less than you think.

By: Ernest Brewer

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Gas Fireplace Inserts

Instead of using wood in your fireplace, why not use a gas fireplace insert? This is an object that you can insert in a pre-installed fireplace and can provide you with warmth and also gives you the soothing effects of flickering flames which you can see in burning woods. However, you might still be having some second thoughts if you are going to buy one for your fireplace or just have your existing fireplace renovated. To help you decide, here are some of the benefits that you can get from gas fireplace inserts.

o Installing a gas fireplace insert is much cheaper and easier than renovating your fireplace. All you need to do is to buy one from some shops that sell such products and hire a professional who can do the job for you. You can also install it yourself as long as you know what you are doing and you follow all instructions to a tee.

o It is easier to clean your fireplace if you only have a gas FP insert than if you are using logs. Imagine the amount of ashes and soot produced by burning wood and the energy and time you have to spend to clean your fireplace. Just thinking about it will make you want to run to your nearby home improvement store to buy a gas FP insert.

o They are also very efficient. You have a fireplace at home for one basic purpose-that is to keep you warm during winter. Traditional fireplaces that burn wood only give you around 10% heat and the rest goes up the chimney. On the other hand, gas fireplace inserts give you around 90% warm air, with only a small percentage escaping outside through the chimney.

These are just some of the benefits of gas FP inserts and after reading them, you probably want to buy one for yourself. Here are some gas fireplace insert buying tips.

o This type of insert needs venting. Check the venting available in your masonry fireplace and choose the appropriate gas fireplace insert based on that detail. You can choose among different venting such as B venting, indirect venting, and direct venting. Select the best one for your fireplace.

o Learn how to identify inserts that are efficient because this can save you a whole lot of energy which in turn can save you a lot of money. As you probably know, if the gas fireplace insert is cost-efficient, it will require less fuel. Cost-efficient fireplace inserts are generally more expensive but you will save more money in the long run.

o You can choose from an array of different gas FP insert designs that will match your room’s theme. You can choose traditional ones that will complement a traditional fireplace with mantel or a contemporary design that will match sleek modern fireplace in urban homes. Do not choose something that will completely be in contrast with your room d

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