gas fireplace as primary heat source

We will be glad to give you an overview. jesse | Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on October 27, 2007 07:02am The house we are currently in is about 1100 square feet, fairly well insulated, and has electric baseboard heat. Blowers can be noisy. The dancing flames and crackling wood of a traditional masonry fireplace adds charm and beauty to the home yet produces surprisingly little heat. Wood stoves can provide style, ambiance – and of course, heat – to your home. Very Good. . I am wondering if anyone has information that can help on this one. And keep in mind that this heater still presents … When the winter design temperature in Table R301.2(1) is below 60°F (16°C), every dwelling unit shall be provided with heating facilities capable of maintaining a minimum room temperature of 68°F (20°C) at a point 3 feet (914mm) above the floor and 2 feet (610mm) from exterior walls in all habitable rooms at the design temperature. Consider a hybrid system; a heat pump paired with an electric air handler or furnace to ensure you always have heat. The estimated annual market for the 2008-2009 heating season is 8,200 to 13,750 direct vent gas fireplaces. I told the buyer I would attempt to help locate some information, both to help her, and to increase my knowledge base. Also, oil provides more heat per BTU (a unit that measures the energy needed to produce heat) than other energy sources. Direct-vent systems are from 75 to 80 percent efficient, Mr. Hahn said. 3. I see two drawbacks: 1) You'll need a blower on it. It’s important to ensure that the new model is also EPA certified. Vent-free fireplaces are accepted in 47 states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, said Mary S. Carson, program director for the Vent-Free Gas Products Alliance, an industry organization based in Arlington, Va. As a side note; the fireplace is not nearly as efficient as furnaces available today. Direct vent appliances, he said, sell for $600 to $1,000, while B-vent fireplaces generally cost from $350 to $500, excluding the cost of the necessary venting. That is accomplished, she said, by placing what is known as a thermocouple -- a switch turned on or off by heat -- at the base of the flame produced by the fireplace's pilot light. When that happens, she said, the flame no longer heats the thermocouple evenly, causing the device to shut down the gas supply. Secondary heating sources like fireplaces, wood burning stoves, space heaters, or electric blankets can produce comfortable heat for smaller, more targeted areas of your home at a fraction of the cost of turning up the thermostat for the entire home. Households using uncertified wood stoves or wood inserts or utilizing a fireplace as a primary heat source are eligible for an incentive towards replacing their old, uncertified device with a cleaner, more efficient heating device. Top What are some of the technological advances of today's ventless appliances? Heating Efficiency of Vented Gas Fireplaces. (-15 C and below). "Hey, 100% beats 95%!" circulation system to force the heat into the room), and fireplaces without inserts. However, you can use them to heat multiple rooms because electric fireplaces are portable and can be moved from one room to the next with minimal effort. It reads as follows; These are often used as a in combination with one of the primary heat sources as a way of saving money. Some units can easily heat 1000-1400 square feet. Many homeowners end up asking chimney sweeps to take out their vent-free gas logs due to problems they find associated with the appliance. Ms. Carson said the alliance was working with city officials in an attempt to do so. There is no way that a simple fireplace insert can heat a house the same way that a central air system that pipes the heated air into each room. Certainly fireplaces are a mainstay in many homes in the U.S. and while we don’t suggest deconstructing them, we do not recommend they be used as a primary heat source. We do get some very cold weather down to 10 below F regullarly and some times colder . 5. Utility bills are lower when they can turn down the thermostat on a central furnace and use the gas fireplace as a supplemental heat source. A masonry heating can also be tied into a radiant HVAC system, such as radiant floors, to preheat the the hot water used for home heating. Yes, a gas fireplace can be an attractive and important part of a home’s zone heating system. The biggest is getting the air moving but with a small fan it could be enough . The room that the fireplace is in will get warm but the further away from the fireplace that you get the colder your home will be. ''With a B-vent system, most of the heat goes out the vent,'' Mr. Hahn said, adding that such systems are typically 30 to 40 percent efficient and are more often used ornamentally. Candles alone are not the best source of heat when looking for ways to heat your house in an emergency. Cape Cod’s #1 Vented & Ventless Gas Fireplace Superstore: Breakaway Keep in mind that a furnace should be size to run almost continuously;y on the coldest day of the year. Some models can very quickly heat around 1000 to 1500 square feet. And that's where a direct vent system comes in.''. was introduced in 1980,'' she said. ... At one time an essential source of heat for warmth and cooking, they remain a gathering spot for family and friends, a symbol of romanticism and comfort, and a visually attractive addition to many homes. Assessing Secondary Heating Sources to Reduce Energy Bills. While gas fireplaces can burn either natural gas or propane, she said, it is necessary to make sure the appropriate burner nozzle is installed for the fuel being used. I have a customer who insists if she runs her Gas Fireplace 24x7 her house stays warm and her furnace only cycles on cold days. Check with your local authority about what the minimum requirements are. Bio-ethanol fuel is available online and at DIY stores such as B&Q ( La Hacienda Bio-Ethanol Fuel, 2L, £9.82 ). Having a wood burning fireplace or wood stove as the only heat source would not meet this guideline because it would be necessary to monitor the fuel and temperature. . Gas fireplace inserts can cost between $400 and $3,500, depending on the power rating and additional features. . rely on their fireplaces as a major heat source; data suggest this proportion is even higher outside of the Portland metropolitan area. Top Aren't there limited sizes and shapes for ventless products? My attempts to locate information from a local dealer have also been fruitless. Mr. Hahn, the sales manager for DESA, said that a standard vent-free fireplace sells for from $800 to $2,400, including the logs, a mantle, some wood trim and a base. This certifies that they operate within the safety tolerances already in place. Paul Hinsperger She said vent-free fireplaces are safe primarily because they are fitted with an oxygen detection safety-pilot, or O.D.S. The better you prepare your home to retain heat, the less fuel you will need to use to heat it. Air Source Heat Pump with electric backup HP 70% load $389 EH 30% Load $417 Total $806 ''The code currently provides that any gas-fueled heater must get its combustion air from outside the building,'' Ms. Fink said, adding that for such appliances to be legal the City Council would have to amend the code. WITH energy prices rising and with real wood as tedious as ever to chop, stack and carry, growing numbers of homeowners are using increasingly efficient gas logs and gas-fueled fireplaces … McPhee also reported a renewed interest in fireplaces, even in the city. You can use a gas fireplace quite safely as a primary source of heating small apartments or homes. Top How many ventless products are in use today? It will also make the farthest places in your home colder. Ernie Johnson, director of marketing for Varsity Plumbing & Heating in Flushing, Queens, said that running a gas line to the fireplace or stand-alone unit could cost $500 or more, depending on the complexity of the work. The exhaust is then expelled through a vent-pipe outside your home. There is another way to get heat inside the house without chopping logs, and a chimney. An EPA-certified wood fireplace insert may fare better for heating than a freestanding wood stove for your home. In this case I am not convinced that a 20K unit is sufficient to heat an old home, which has only R-30 in the attic, apppears to have nothing in the walls, and a partially insulated sub floor. WITH energy prices rising and with real wood as tedious as ever to chop, stack and carry, growing numbers of homeowners are using increasingly efficient gas logs and gas-fueled fireplaces as a supplemental source of heat. Often, a homeowner will report a horrible odor when the logs are in use, water running down the windows and walls, stains and soot, mold and mildew issues, unexplained headaches and being ill while in the house while using the logs. . The house was heated by only a 20K BTU, Heat N Glo, Vienna I, freestanding natural gas fireplace. In such a system, he said, two vent pipes are connected to the fireplace -- an intake vent that brings combustion air in from the outside and an exhaust vent that directs the products of combustion from the inside out. . They also acknowledge that, while residents of some regions traditionally use ventless heaters as their primary sources of heat, the appliances are NOT designed for this purpose. You cannot use a ventless fireplace as a primary heating source, instead it should be considered as a secondary source, but can provide heat during periods when the electricity is out. . Fireplaces are typically very inefficient … If it is not, stop there and tell the customer. They also acknowledge that, while residents of some regions traditionally use ventless heaters as their primary sources of heat, the appliances are NOT designed for this purpose. Certain the buyer will be using supplemental space heaters. ''If you want to use your fireplace as a heat source, you have to get a minimum of 70 percent efficiency. However, on a really cold day they may not be as comfortable or be using portable electric heater. Top What are the benefits of ventless heating products? As revealed by United States census data from 2011, this interest has not died. Yes, a gas fireplace is an excellent heating-source, and it’s also an attractive unit. They recommend only using appliances listed to the ANSI Z21.11.2 standard. These are often used as a in combination with one of the primary heat sources as a way of saving money. Hope this helps Roy Cooke. Before firing up your heat source of choice, take a few minutes to secure your home to minimize heat loss. Fireplaces can be fueled by wood or natural gas. The authors btu counts vary alot from heat source to heat source but 36 million / year is the middle of the propane scale using an 805 efficient appliance so lets assume that. You can use a gas fireplace quite safely as a primary source of heating small apartments or homes. Orangeville Ontario www.hinsperger.com. is designed to shut off the gas supply to the fireplace when the oxygen level falls to 18.5 percent.''. . Gas fireplace/stove as main heat source. When oxygen levels fall below 18.5 percent, Ms. Carson said, the ignition flame ''jumps off the pilot light looking for a fuel source.'' Top How is a ventless appliance different than vented products? In a B-vented unit, the most commonly used in homes and apartments with existing fireplaces, the air used for combustion comes from inside the house while exhaust gases are vented outside through a pipe run up an existing chimney or installed as a stand-alone vent stack. Information on heating equipment is provided in Table 1-4 of each metropolit an area repo rt. Direct-vent fireplaces are closed systems; this means it pulls outside air into the firebox to feed the flame rather than pulling air from inside your home. Greetings, I just purchased a fieldstone two bedroom ranch house built in 1950 that has a chimney going up through the center of the house. They also cannot be the primary source of heat in the room they are installed in. The recycling of combustion air allows ventless fireplaces -- which do not need chimneys -- to achieve efficiency ratings of more than 99 percent. Using it as the sole heating source works best when the temperature rarely dips below 40° outside. They don't produce a lot of warmth, and they introduce a fire hazard into the house.However, if you don't have any other source of heat and you need some type of heater, you can build a simple candle heater with a couple of clay pots. There are lot of ways to heat the house, and your choice will depend on a variety of factors, including fuel availability and the … Once the appliance of choice for home heating, wood stoves are making a comeback of sorts thanks to higher-efficiency, cleaner-burning pellet stoves. Almost half of the nation's new single-family homes were built with one fireplace, and one in twenty had two or more fireplaces. (However, gas fireplace are not an efficient way to heat … … . The Duraflame … This would have been a nice inspection for January and 35F degree weather. And keep in mind that this heater still presents … Besides researching the cost, if you plan to use the insert as a supplemental heat source, determine the heat output your unit will need to heat your home. They are easier to use, cleaner and more efficient than traditional wood-burning fireplaces. That would answer the question as to if it is acceptable. Pumped back into living space at low cost fireplace inserts, for example, can heat up to square. Delivery and digital subscribers and tell the customer, with live flames, a cozy and. Easier to use to heat and, with live flames, a gas quite! And use the gas fireplace quite safely as a home 's sole heating source probably wo n't be able watch. 1,000 square feet LP soapstone.iron heater as the sole heating source gas fireplaces working with city codes operated... 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