Hands down, a gas fireplace is more economical than a wood burning fireplace. Not only is it more economical to burn gas logs than it is to burn cut wood, but there are a host of other reasons to choose gas over wood. Among these are:
- lower installation costs
- greater convenience
- improved efficiency
- cleanliness and storage
It is typically far less expensive to install a gas fireplace than a wood burning one. They require fewer structural elements and they may not even need a chimney. If they can be installed with direct venting to the exterior of the house, a chimney is superfluous. If it is necessary, it can be lighter and simpler, and its maintenance in good condition is easier and less costly.
A gas fireplace is also far more convenient and energy efficient than a wood fireplace. It starts with the push of a button, very different than a trip to the store, much less an axe and a tree. Compared with lugging wood to the fireplace, crumpling newspaper, lighting it repeatedly, and everything else involved with a wood fireplace, the red button is extremely appealing.
When it is not being used, the gas fireplace retains the warmth of the home, while the wood burning fireplace sends it up the chimney. The gas fireplace means energy savings for both the homeowner’s pocketbook and the environment when less heat is required. This trapping of warm air inside the house is among the benefits of the glass doors that accompany most gas fireplaces.
A wood burning fireplace, no matter how careful and fastidious you are, leaves black ash on the floor around it and gray ash in the fireplace that has to be swept up after every fire. Added to that is the buildup of soot and tar in the chimney of a wood burning fireplace. Finally, for those who live in large, open-plan condominiums and apartments, the problem of storing enough wood to satisfy your heating needs is an interesting one. It is worth remembering that a cord of cut firewood is 8’ long by 4’ wide by 4’ high. So, add the cost of a little gas to repeatedly drive to the store to the already higher costs of a wood burning fireplace.