Crisp autumn winds have begun to blow throughout Middle Tennessee, and many homeowners will light their fireplaces as soon as the first frost arrives. If you are planning to purchase a home with a fireplace or are considering installing a fireplace in your current home, you may be waffling between choosing a wood-burning or gas-powered fireplace. We’re here to help with our exploration of the pros and cons of wood vs. gas fireplaces for homeowners!
Let’s break this down.
Wood-Burning Fireplaces
Pros
1.) Soothing Aesthetics
Nothing compares to the familiar aesthetics of a wood fire. From the crackling sounds to the waves of color moving across the embers, curling up in front of a wood-burning fireplace is the epitome of cold-weather romance. If you have your heart set on the experience of a fireplace like those of old, this may be all the reason you need to go for it.
2.) Nostalgic Aromas
Similarly, the heady aroma of dry wood meeting raw flame is a scent you will never experience indoors without a traditional fireplace. If your favorite family memories are intertwined with this unique scent, you may decide to stick with wood into the future.
3.) Social Bonding Opportunities
Building a wood fire involves bringing in the wood, arranging it just so over kindling, lighting it, stoking it, and keeping it going throughout the long winter nights. Usually, these are social activities that involve family and friends—perhaps even a little light bickering over the “correct” ways to build and maintain the fire.
You won’t get even close to the same level of involvement with a gas fireplace. Instead, it’s as simple as flicking a switch. If you love the process of building each fire, a gas fireplace will let you down.
Cons
1.) Health Concerns
There’s no two ways about it: wood-burning fireplaces are a serious health hazard. Even when they are installed and operated correctly in a freshly cleaned fireplace (chimney flue and all,) the American Lung Association makes it clear that “Emissions from wood smoke, discussed below, can cause coughing, wheezing, asthma attacks, heart attacks, and premature death, among other health effects.”
Furthermore, the EPA has shared research demonstrating that one wood fireplace running for one hour and consuming just ten pounds of wood “generates 4,300 times more carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons than 30 cigarettes.”
2.) Cleaning Requirements
Cleaning a wood fireplace requires donning a respirator, cleaning out ashes, disposing of the ashes, and scheduling regular chimney cleaning. Cleaning up is hazardous to one’s health, time-consuming, and depending on where you live, chimney sweeps can be costly.
3.) More Complex Installation
Wood fireplaces must be installed according to strict guidelines, require flame-proof tiles to be laid around them, and require significantly more space than their gas-burning counterparts.
4.) Pull Heat from the Home
While wood-burning fireplaces do heat the room in which they’re built, they work by pulling air from the surrounding rooms to be ventilated through the chimney. The result is that these other rooms are colder overall than they would be without the fireplace burning.
When homes were poorly insulated and quite drafty to begin with, this was not a significant downside to using fireplaces, and they were often built in several rooms throughout larger homes. Today, our insulated homes with impermeable envelopes make wood fireplaces far less practical.
Gas-Powered Fireplaces
Pros
1.) Ultra Convenient
If you want to use your gas fireplace, you will only need to flick a switch. There’s no wood to store, no need to carefully arrange the logs, and no need to wake up periodically to maintaine the blaze.
Your fireplace will run hot and crackling until you’re finished using it. Simply switch it off, and it will be ready for use when you next wish to use it.
2. ) Healthy to Use
Gas fireplaces, when installed and used properly, do not present a notable health hazard. Make sure your fireplace vents to the outdoors, keep your CO2 monitors nearby (with fresh batteries installed,) and have your fireplace inspected before use each season. By following these steps, you can have your fire and keep your health, too!
3.) Provide More Warmth
While a gas fireplace won’t beat central heating for keeping your house toasty, the BTU output guarantees that it will heat your home better than a wood fireplace. Perhaps more importantly, a gas fireplace being switched on in the living room won’t steal heat from the rest of the house.
4.) No Special Cleaning Required
Other than dusting, cleaning the glass panels, occasional sand replacement (depending on the type of fireplace you choose), and making sure nothing is blocking your chimney, you won’t have to clean your fireplace to use it.
5.) Easier to Install
Gas fireplaces are comparatively simple to install, particularly if your home already relies on gas for other purposes. While hiring a professional is still essential, you’ll find that the cost and time required to install it will be lower than choosing a wood fireplace.
They also take up less space, which is useful no matter how spacious your home may be.
Cons
1.) Reliance on Gas
If you wish to install a gas fireplace and your home has no current gas line, you will have to pay to have one run. While this cost can only be estimated by a professional, it does add a complication a wood fireplace avoids.
2.) May Appear “Fake”
Even the most beautiful ceramic logs arranged over mineral coals and fireplace glass won’t burn down and change as it does so. For this reason alone, there are those who can’t warm up to the “artificial” appearance of even state-of-the-art gas fireplaces.
The Takeaway
Regardless which style of fireplace you choose, remember that the safety of you and your loved ones is the most important thing. Hire professionals to install, maintain, and inspect your fireplace and chimney.
Stay warm, safe, and connected with us to continue to learn about how you can customize and optimize your home in 2025 and beyond!
Posted by Parks Compass on
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