Choosing Between Gas and Wood Burning Fireplaces

A fireplace adds personality and value to your home. When a person imagines their perfect home, the house typically includes a comfortable home that keeps you and your family warm in the winter, either with a smoothly running heater or getting comfy around a cozy fire.

It’s hard to resist the allure of of a crackling fire, but how do you pick between a gas or wood burning fireplace? There are many aspects 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 sensation category. You get the crackle. You get the pop. You get the chance to roast marshmallows indoors. Something you don’t get is an efficient heating source. Wood fires normally receive up to a 15% efficiency rating, a lot lower than a furnace that has routine service performed. They do generate a lot of heat, 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 home up the chimney.
  
  
• Gas: There have been many artistic advances in gas fireplaces. The flames have become more realistic and some versions offer various adjustments in height. The types of logs used in gas fireplaces now more closely favor the real thing and come complete with glowing embers, which don’t force you to wait while they simmer out. You can easily switch your gas fireplace on and off, providing you more control over your home’s 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. Picture the level of comfort you could have when you combine that with a fully serviced furnace. 

Air Quality and Maintenance

• Wood: Air quality is crucial to all homeowners. Burning wood produces air pollution in and outside your family’s home and the smoky wood smell 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 chimney sweep. Much like furnaces that should have furnace service completed annually, gas fireplaces also require recurrent cleanings of cinders and spent logs.
  
  
• Gas: Gas fireplaces require a little bit of dusting every now and then and are just about maintenance free. It is advised that you get your gas fireplace cleaned and adjusted once a year by a specialist to keep it functioning both safely and effectively.