Heating Systems

The Natural Heating System

Many people agree that one of the nicest things is to have a real living flame, a real fire, as part of the heating system in the house. There is something about watching the flames dance around that makes the place feel warmer even if the temperature has not risen substantially. The trouble was that a traditional real fire was usually fired by wood, and a wood burning fire or stove meant a lot of work, especially in the mornings when you needed to get the fire going in order to make sure the house or the room had been heated before the rest of the family woke up. However, due to the advent of modern technology, there is a way to have a real fire and yet not to have to cope with the problems of lighting a real wood fire, and the way to do this is to install one of the many natural gas fireplaces is out now available.

Instant heat

A natural gas fireplace, or even a propane gas fireplace, has very little work to do on it in order to produce heat. Natural gas of course is piped into the house, and so the gas supply is always there. With propane gas you have to make sure you have the propane supplies, but these are readily available, and it is still much easier to get heat from a propane gas stove that it is from a wood-fired stove. In short, a gas stove means instant heat, and that is exactly what you need when the cold weather comes.

With both natural and propane gas stoves, there are essentially two options: the vented natural gas fireplace and a freestanding or ventless stove. The vented fireplace will usually need to be set against a wall in order that the flue can be run to an external wall and take the toxic fumes and/or steam out of the living space. A standalone gas fireplace can be vented through the ceiling, but this can cause problems if the route to the roof is blocked in any way.

Portable gas stoves

For this reason many people choose to have a ventless gas fireplace installed because it is highly portable, and all you need is a gas pipe that comes from the natural gas supply. A propane fireplace is even more portable of course, but by using a pliable pipe it is possible to have a certain degree of flexibility in choosing where you place your ventless unit.

For a decent natural gas fireplace, take a look at the Napoleon Park Avenue model. This is a zero clearance direct vent fireplace supplying 26,000 BTU of heat and has a 50% heat and flame adjustment. A realistic natural wood effect is achieved using Phazer™ logs which can be seen through the heat radiating ceramic glass door. The unit has a hand held remote-control which can change blower speed, flame height and heat. This gas fireplace can be used in the bedroom or bathroom and also in mobile homes.

Adjustable flame burners

For those wanting a little more heat output, there is the Napoleon 45° Peninsula model, a natural gas zero clearance unit giving up to 30,000 BTU of heat output. It has a flame/heat adjustment control and heat resistant glass, also using the Phazeramic™ burner system. If looking for a weather-proof outdoor fireplace, try the Sonoma gas fireplace, a stainless steel unit which runs on LP or natural gas, giving 61,000 BTU of heat. It a chimney free unit with glass doors which can be used in porches, gazebos and lanais.

The main thing that needs to be decided on is the size of the room you wish to heat. Anything that is less than about 1000 square feet can be dealt with easily by a fireplace that gives out around 25,000 BTU up to about 50,000 BTU. There is also the decision that needs to be made about the size of the unit. If this is to be inserted into a fireplace you need to check the width of the unit to make sure that it will fit. A standard size is a 30 inch to 32 inch wide gas fireplace unit, and this will fit into most hearths.

Whatever the size of your room there is almost certain to be a natural gas fireplace that can heat your room to a very decent temperature. In fact, if you choose one of the more powerful gas fireplace models you may find that the room becomes very warm even in the middle of winter.