Tips for Choosing the Gas Fireplace of Your Dreams

Few enhancements to your home can rival the comfort, character, and convenience of a gas fireplace. Think of all the rooms in your home where you could enjoy one! And unlike a wood-burner, there’s no mess from newspapers, wood splinters, bark, ashes or soot with a gas fireplace. Just flip a switch or hit a button on a remote, and you have instant warmth and ambiance.

Whether you want a gas fireplace for an existing or yet-to-be-built home, our hearth experts recommend thinking about the following factors when deciding which fireplace is right for you.

Placement
Placement of gas fireplaces has evolved from the traditional locations in family rooms or living rooms. Today’s interior design trends place them in any room where ambiance and warmth are desired, which can be just about any room in the house! Imagine turning on your fireplace to soak in the tub or to work in your home office. Bedtime reading in the warmth of a fireplace would definitely help to calm your nerves, and pave the way for many nights of restful sleep. There are also see-through and multi-sided fireplaces, which can be enjoyed in more than one room at a time!

Beyond the room (or rooms) where the fireplace is located, placement on the wall is also changing. Modern-style fireplaces are often placed higher on the wall, like a piece of art.

Style
There are a wide range of gas fireplace styles to choose from, and one of them is sure to strike your fancy. Heat & Glo offers models in contemporary, traditional, and fusion styles. Traditional-style fireplaces, such as our flagship 8000 Series or the Cerona gas fireplace, feature realistic logs, flames and embers with varying fireboxes and surrounds to complement a home’s décor.

Contemporary design trends have influenced many home building products and fireplaces are no exception. Many modern-style fireplaces have media such as pebbles, stones, colored glass crystals or a combination of those materials instead of traditional fireplace logs. They may also be a non-traditional size or shape, with in-line flames, LED backlighting and sleek finishes on the surround to complement today’s modern styles. Heat & Glo’s MEZZO or Solaris gas fireplaces are stunning examples of the evolution from traditional styles.

Investment
Gas fireplaces are available in a wide range of prices to accommodate almost any budget. As you contemplate how much you want to spend, keep in mind the return on investment that adding a fireplace brings to your home’s value. Fireplaces are popular home amenities, and many homeowners want one, including those who may consider buying your house someday when you’re ready to sell.

According to a 2013 survey by The National Association of REALTORS®, fireplaces are one of the most-preferred features homebuyers seek in a home. Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed indicated they would pay more for a house with at least one fireplace, with a median premium of $1,400.

Direct Vented or unvented?
All Heat & Glo gas fireplaces are Direct Vent, which means they have sealed combustion systems that draw outside air for the fire and expel combustion exhaust outside the home. Direct Vent systems protect indoor air quality significantly better than unvented, vent-free or ventless fireplaces, which use indoor air and oxygen for the fire, and expel exhaust and byproducts, like carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and moisture, into the home. Many hearth manufacturers, remodelers and hearth retailers do not sell unvented fireplaces due to safety and moisture/condensation issues.

Heating efficiency
A gas fireplace is more than just a beautiful addition to a room. It can also help reduce your heating costs. Have a gas fireplace installed in the area of your home where you spend the most time, and you could lower your home heating bills by as much as 40 percent, according to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association. Simply lower the temperature on your home’s central thermostat, and heat the areas where you live with your energy efficient gas fireplace.