Chimney Care Company's Blog
Wood-burning, pellet or gas? Which fireplace is right for you?
Are you looking to add a fireplace to your home? Once you choose to enhance your hearth and home, one of the first decisions you will have to make about your new fireplace or heating stove is fuel time. So wood-burning, pellet or gas — which fireplace is right for you?
Wood-burning fireplaces, fireplace inserts, and heating stoves
When most homeowners envision a hearth, they picture the soothing crackle, gentle glow and soft warmth of a fire-burning fireplace, fireplace insert or heating stove. Wood-burning hearth appliances are popular for a reason: In addition to their classic feel, wood-burning fireplaces and stoves can be an inexpensive way to add supplemental heat to your home. If you’re able to harvest your own firewood, the additional heat from a wood-burning fireplace comes, essentially, for free. Even if you purchase wood for your wood-burning fireplace or heating stove, fueling your wood-burning hearth appliance is low cost. And while traditional wood-burning fireplaces have a bad reputation for their inefficiency, an enclosed wood-burning fireplace insert or heating stove can generate a lot of heat for your home very efficiently and will little air pollution.
Pellet fireplaces, fireplace inserts, and heating stoves
For people who love the traditional look and feel of a wood-burning fireplace but who want a hearth appliance that’s lower maintenance, a pellet fireplace, fireplace insert or heating stove might be the answer. Pellet-burning appliances are fueled by small pellets made from dehydrated, compressed wood shavings. Many also can burn biofuels, like cherry pits or corn. Pellet fireplaces, inserts and heating stoves are easier to use because they are fueled automatically. You load a hopper with your biofuel of choice, and an automated auger automatically feeds the fuel to the fireplace as needed. Fuel for a pellet stove can be bought at nearly any big box store, and the bags are stored easily out of the way. You can fill a hopper when it’s easy for you, and your fireplace will continue to be fueled while you’re sleeping, at work or out running errands.
Gas fireplaces, fireplace inserts, and heating stoves
Gas hearth appliances are the right choice for people who love the warmth and ambiance provided by a fireplace or heating stove but who hate the work involved in fueling and maintaining a fireplace. Gas fireplaces, fireplaces, and heating stoves ignite automatically at the push of a button, and they can be wired to thermostats to help regulate the temperature within a home. The other advantages to gas fireplaces are that they don’t require the infrastructure required by wood-burning or pellet appliances. With zero-clearance, direct-vent and vent-free gas hearth appliances, you can install a fireplace nearly anywhere within your home.
If you are ready to add a fireplace to your home, but you’re still trying to determine what type of fireplace is right for you, call the Chimney Care Co.! Our fireplace experts can help you determine what type and size fireplace is right for you, and we can get your new hearth appliance installed properly so you can enjoy it all winter long.