A fireplace is among the most important home appliances which are considered by every Canadian family. It can be a pleasure to gather near a fireplace and spend a cold winter night along with family members or enjoy drinking a cup of coffee after a hard day’s work.
So you should choose a fireplace having a suitable design for your home in addition to technical properties. Due to the great variety of products, it will be a hard job to find a fireplace with desired features. There are mainly three types of fireplaces based on fuel type: wood-burning, gas type, and electric fireplaces and you have just one choice.
We are here to make it easy for you to compare these types.
In the following, we will explain features you should consider to compare these types properly and make the best choice.
Cost
All wood-burning fireplaces need a firebox and a chimney to draw smoke. Considering the price of fireplace accessories, it costs you nearly $2300 to $6600.
In a gas fireplace, usually, natural gas is burnt to produce heat. So you need to have a gas line connection for your fireplace in addition to firebox and chimney and this costs you more. On the other hand, there are fireplaces that are vent-free which means that you don’t need a chimney. Consider other accessories, it costs you from $2700 to $7500 (it also depends on whether the fireplace is vent-free or not).
Since electric fireplaces are a package and don’t need a firebox or chimney and major installations, it will cost you a much less price. The price is $800 to $2300.
Efficiency and Pollution
When we compare the overall efficiency of these three fireplaces, it shows that wood-burning fireplaces have the least efficiency because of less energy conversion and producing more polluting emissions. Second is gas fireplaces which have fewer emissions than wood-burning type and a better energy conversion than wood-burning type. Number one inefficiency is an electric fireplace which brings all the input electricity to heat. But consider that this comparison is just for the end-user. We know that electricity is mainly produced by fossil fuels and it has its own efficiency and pollution problem. But in case electricity is produced by renewable energy resources, it will be the most efficient and environmentally friendly type.
Maintenance
Maintenance is an important parameter in the long term. All you have to do with electric fireplaces is pushing a button. You don’t need a periodic inspection to check the ventilation or …. Gas fireplaces should be checked and serviced periodically which will cost a price for you. This is much more complicated in wood-burning fireplaces. In a similar period, a wood-burning fireplace need to be checked more times than a gas fireplace. Also, you should clean your chimney periodically. Providing wood is another challenge that you should face if you have chosen a wood-burning fireplace.
Grace
In terms of light and grace which a fireplace gives to the room, a wood-burning type is the most realistic and pleasant type. The gas fireplace is next choice and then we have an electric fireplace that doesn’t produce the flame in the same way but it has an almost convincing appearance.
These are the most important subjects which should be considered before buying a fireplace. So consider all aspects and then buy a suitable fireplace for your home.
