Considering A Gas Fireplace

Every good home should have a fireplace, right? What can be better than relaxing by a warm fire on a chilly evening? Doesn't a good fireplace almost seem required when thinking about a good home? Who can deny the immediate sense of peace and calm we feel in the presence of a nice fire? Since the dawn of humanity, we have been mesmerized and comforted by fire.

Conventional wood burning fireplaces have their drawbacks, though. First, you need to somehow acquire firewood. Many people don't live in a place where they can just go out back and start chopping wood. Furthermore, most of us have no interest in putting forth that kind of effort. You can have firewood delivered, but that can be costly. Plus, where are you going to put it? You need to have a place to stack all that wood.

Wood burning fireplaces create a lot of ash and debris. This can be a hassle to clean up. And let's say you want a fireplace, but your home doesn't have a chimney. Are you going to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to have a chimney put in?

For these reasons and others, more and more people these days are going with natural gas fireplaces instead of conventional wood burning ones. Yes, you miss out the crackle and pop of a wood burning fireplace, but natural gas fireplaces more than make up for it with convenience, ease of use, and cleanliness. Natural gas fireplaces are more energy efficient than wood burning fireplaces and they produce less pollution. Convenient, energy efficient, and clean: that's what's convincing people to switch to natural gas fireplaces.

People these days are thinking about the environment when making major purchases and it's better to burn some natural gas than chop down more trees. Let's not forget costs, either. Natural gas is relatively cheap and the monthly bills will be surprisingly low. Natural gas fireplaces are also safer than wood burning ones. There's no ash build-up and fear of chimney fires.

There are two main styles of natural gas furnaces. There are freestanding units and built-in units. If you already have a fireplace in your house, then you should go with a built-in one. If you don't, then you're going to want a freestanding unit. You also have a choice in how the fireplace is vented.

There are vented and non-vented natural gas fireplaces. Vented ones are great if you already have a fireplace or are willing to spend the money to have a vent installed. With the convenience and advanced technology of modern gas fireplaces, you can get ones that don't require venting at all. That means almost any home can be fitted with a natural gas fireplace.

Natural gas fireplaces come in a variety of sizes. Make sure you choose yours based on the size of the area you want to heat. If you're not sure what size to go with, ask your local furnace dealer.

People today are choosing natural gas fireplaces over wood burning fireplaces. They're more convenient, less harmful to the environment, and suitable to a wider range of residences.