Tips for Choosing the Gas Fireplace of Your Dreams

Few enhancements to your home can rival the comfort, character and convenience of a gas fireplace. From great rooms to basements to bedrooms, so many spots in your home could benefit from the coziness and style a fireplace adds. And unlike a wood-burning fireplace, there’s no mess from newspapers, fire-starters, wood splinters, bark or ashes with a gas fireplace. Just flip a switch, hit a button on a remote or use your voice to turn on your fireplace, and you have instant warmth and ambiance. Whether you want a gas fireplace for an existing or yet-to-be-built home, our hearth experts recommend thinking about the following factors when deciding which fireplace is right for you.

Placement of gas fireplaces has evolved from the traditional locations in family rooms or living rooms. Today’s interior design trends place them in any room where ambiance and warmth are desired, which can be just about any room in the house! Imagine turning on your fireplace to soak in the tub or to work in your home office. Bedtime reading in the warmth of a fireplace could calm your nerves and pave the way for many nights of restful sleep. There are also see-through and multi-sided fireplaces, which can be enjoyed in more than one room at a time—a great option for owner’s suites.

Beyond the room (or rooms) where the fireplace is located, placement on the wall is also changing. Modern-style fireplaces are often placed higher on the wall, like a piece of art. You can even stack a television above a linear fireplace, thanks to innovative heat management technologies that move heat where you want, whether that be outside the home or to another room within the home.

There are a wide range of gas fireplace styles to choose from, and one of them is sure to strike your fancy. Heat & Glo offers models that range from contemporary to traditional. Traditional-style fireplaces, such as our flagship 8000 Series or the Cerona gas fireplace, feature realistic logs, flames and embers with varying fireboxes and surrounds to complement a home’s classic décor.

Contemporary design trends have influenced many home building products and fireplaces are no exception. Many modern-style fireplaces have media such as pebbles, stones, colored glass crystals or a combination of those materials instead of traditional fireplace logs. They may also be a non-traditional size or shape, with in-line flames, LED backlighting and sleek finishes on the surround to complement today’s modern styles. Our Enlight Single-Sided gas fireplace from Stellar by Heat & Glo is a stunning example of the evolution from traditional styles.

Gas fireplaces are available in a wide range of prices to accommodate almost any budget. Selecting a new hearth is not unlike selecting a new car: It’s important to look at sticker price as a starting point, explains Andy Hoffman, retail store lead at Fireside Hearth & Home. “Fireplaces have options like a car does. You have simple models to deluxe models,” says Hoffman. “What’s reflected in the sticker price is often the most basic option.”

As you contemplate how much you want to spend, keep in mind the return on investment that adding a fireplace brings to your home’s value. Fireplaces are popular home amenities, and many homeowners want one, including those who may consider buying your house some day when it’s time to sell. Nearly 80 percentage of real estate agents in the poll conducted by Angie’s List say both indoor and outdoor fireplaces increase a home’s value by anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000. They also say that when it comes to luxury homes, outdoor fireplaces count as a must-have.

The majority of Heat & Glo gas fireplaces are direct vent, which means they have sealed combustion systems that draw outside air for the fire and expel combustion exhaust outside the home. Direct vent systems are sealed off from the home’s interior with a high-temperature glass panel and protective screen, so any flames or combustion byproducts are completely separated from the air in your home. This illustration shows how a direct vent can be routed from the firebox directly through the wall to the outdoors, and also the optional side and top venting routes.

A gas fireplace is more than just a beautiful addition to a room. It can also help reduce your heating costs. Have a gas fireplace installed in the area of your home where you spend the most time, and you could lower your home heating bills by as much as 40 percent, according to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association. Simply lower the temperature on your home’s central thermostat and heat the areas where you live with your energy-efficient gas fireplace.

When it’s time to research what gas fireplace is right for you, visiting our Inspiration Gallery is a great place to explore different styles and ideas. When you’re ready to make your dream of having a beautiful gas fireplace a reality, connect with a local authorized dealer to get started.