18Aug
What You Should Know Before You Buy Gas or Wood Inserts in Ottawa
With fall just around the corner, now is the time to start thinking about home heating options for the upcoming cold weather. If you have a brick fireplace hearth that could use an update, consider installing a gas or wood insert for improved heat transfer and comfort. Both gas and wood inserts in Ottawa offer home heating solutions with their own unique benefits. So, if you’re looking to update your fireplace, but you’re not sure which insert to go with, consider the following factors of gas and wood inserts.
Look
Natural wood-burning fires in wood inserts provide a warm, cozy, and rustic atmosphere in any room, giving you nice flames to gaze at on cold nights. Wood fires also emit the much-loved smell and crackling sounds of burning logs and kindling.
Gas inserts have a more contemporary appearance with their gas flames, ceramic logs, or decorative fire glass and stones. While gas inserts don’t have the same look and smell of wood fires, they do emit heat very efficiently.
Heat
If you use a wood insert to complement your home heating source, you can save money on heating costs. While gas is often a cheaper heating source for your home—especially compared to electric baseboards—the costs of combining your natural gas usage for your furnace, gas insert, and any gas appliances might add up.
Fuel Supply
If you live in the country, you probably have an abundant supply of wood on your property that you can chop. But most wood fireplace owners order their wood from a local firewood supplier or buy it in store. And this firewood must be stored well and seasoned (dry) to burn efficiently and cleanly.
Gas inserts don’t require any errands or work to fuel. A professional will hook up the natural gas line and you can use the insert with the push of a button. You won’t have to exert energy or make room to store large piles of wood.
Cleaning
You must clean wood inserts regularly to keep the fire burning well, efficiently, and safely. Also, to avoid ash plumes in your home, clean the insert once the fire is out and the insert has cooled down. You also need to have your chimney cleaned and inspected annually by a chimney sweep to avoid a hazardous chimney fire.
There is absolutely no mess involved with gas inserts—no ash, creosote, logs, kindling, or debris. However, you should have gas insert inspected annually by a gas insert technician to make sure it’s working well and safely.
Emissions
Natural gas burns cleaner than wood. Burning wood emits 99% more particulate emissions than natural gas—in the forms of soot and ash. This can affect the air quality inside your home without proper ventilation. Gas inserts burn with a 65% to 99% efficiency rating and don’t affect indoor air quality with the exhaust vented outside.
Power
If the gas insert requires electricity to work, you won’t be able to use it during a power outage. However, if the gas line is still operating, you can manually light the fire.
There is no worry about power outages with wood inserts. As long as you have enough seasoned firewood to use, and an ignition source, then you can keep your home warm in a winter storm power outage.
There are many factors to consider when choosing gas or wood inserts. While gas inserts are more convenient and easy to use, some people prefer the look, smell, and feel of a wood-burning fire. For more help deciding which insert is best for you and your home, contact the experts in gas and wood inserts in Ottawa.