Many people are enchanted by the appearance of a log burning on a wood fueled fireplace. Look a bit closer, though, and you’ll see the drawbacks of a wood burning fireplace that make it unsuitable for most homes. Let’s examine the reasons why gas fireplaces are superior:

1. Gas Means Lower Maintenance
Wood burning fireplaces require an immense amount of maintenance. Unless they are carefully cleaned out on a regular basis, they develop into fire hazards. To protect your home and family, this cleaning should be performed by professionals This can be costly, especially since it should be done multiple times per year.

2. Gas is Less Expensive to Operate
The cost of natural gas and firewood vary from year to year, but one thing remains consistent: A gas fireplace is cheaper to operate than one that uses firewood. Using your wood burning fireplace can cost anything from 2-3 times more than a comparable gas fireplace. That can mean hundreds of dollars extra on your household bills during the winter.

3. Gas is Better for the Environment
Emissions from wood burning fireplaces represent an environmental hazard. Not only that, but if your chimney becomes clogged, they can be very dangerous. A gas fireplace produces up to 99% less particulate matter. No matter how often you use it, you can feel confident that you are doing your part to protect the natural world.

4. Gas Heats Your Home Efficiently
About 60% of heat from the average wood burning fireplace is lost up the chimney. At the same time, wood burning fireplaces tend to draw warm air up out of a room. It, too, is lost through the chimney. The gas line in gas fireplaces doesn’t suffer reduced efficiency from waste emissions. Because they are more efficient, you can heat up your home faster.

5. Gas Means No Inconvenient Smell
Vendors add a small amount of scent to natural gas to ensure you can smell it in very rare event of a line leak. Most homeowners will never encounter this smell. Burning wood, on the other hand, has a consistent, intense odor – even when the fireplace itself is clean.

When it comes to performance, gas fireplaces beat wood burning ones hands down. With a new gas fireplace installed by experts, you can look forward to savings and comfort for many years to come. To find out more, contact Syles Mechanical today.