Wood fireplace vs. gas fireplace

LocalNewsDaily.com, Nov 14, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

There is a kind of elemental majesty in a roaring fire. Warming yourself at the hearth, it’s easy to get the sense that you’ve defied nature in the way of the ancients, sheltered from whatever rages outside.

Here’s the problem:

The efficiency of heating your home with an open fireplace has improved little since our ancestors began bringing nature to heel.

There is a more energy-conscious approach in today’s quest for fire, driving the sales of more efficient technologies, primarily fireplace inserts – essentially a cast-iron or plate steel stove that fits in your fireplace.

Prices for a fireplace insert, tricked out and installed, start at between $2,000 and $2,500, but improved efficiency will provide a return on investment in time. One key question is whether to burn wood or gas.

Here’s how the two options match up.

Aesthetics

Manufacturers of gas inserts have become quite skilled – and imaginative – at creating realistic hearthscapes for the fireplace, simulating partially burned logs and piles of glowing embers beneath.

NW Natural’s retail store in Southeast Portland even offers two free artificial pine cones with certain purchases.

Then again, all of it is fake.

Advantage: Wood

Sustainability of fuel

Natural gas and an available alternative, propane, are fossil fuels.

Wood is not. As long as a tree is planted for every one burned, wood remains a renewable resource.

Advantage: Wood

Cost

Neither wood nor gas is particularly expensive as fuel. Using gas can cost as little as 20 cents an hour, according to NW Natural, but firewood is cheap and plentiful in the Northwest.

A wood-burning insert features a costlier venting system than a gas insert, but lets you avoid the cost of running a gas line to your home. If you don’t use natural gas otherwise, that will cost you around $1,000 unless you agree to convert another appliance, usually a water heater, to gas.

Wade DeMoray of Hometown Hearth and Grill in Happy Valley says wood-burning inserts cost between $1,300 and $2,500, with liner assembly and installation running an additional $700 to $1,500. Gas inserts range more widely in price, anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 for the units and additional costs.

Advantage: Wood

Safety

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