As the weather becomes so cold, a gas fireplace is a great addition to bring warmth and coziness to your home. For that, many homeowners like but they only know how the gas enters, lights, and makes a fire.
This may lead them to wonder how does a gas fireplace work? What are the types of gas fireplaces?
For that, this WarmthPedia guide will tell you what exactly is a gas fireplace, along with its common types, and how does a gas fireplace work.
But always remember to follow the safety precautions when lighting the pilot light on your gas fireplace.
What is Gas Fireplace?
A gas fireplace doesn’t emit any smoke, and it vents its waste gases through a tube in the wall as opposed to up a chimney. It also has air-flow channels that help increase the amount of heat delivered to your home.
The fireplace is made of non-combustible logs that cover gas vents, while the fireplace itself burns behind glass doors. It produces heat that is both radiant and convectional and creates an environment similar to an open fire.
Common Types of Gas Fireplaces
There are six different types of gas fireplaces that you can add to your home. WarmthPedia has collected these types:
- The Traditional, Wood-Burning Fireplace
- Gas Fireplace
- Vented Gas Fireplace
- Direct Vent Gas Fireplace
- Ventless Gas Fireplace
- Gas Log
How Does a Gas Fireplace Work?
Gas fireplaces are easy to use. But if you are wondering “how does a gas fireplace work?”, here’s WarmthPedia explaining how does a gas fireplace work:
1. The Traditional, Wood-Burning Fireplace
In a traditional wood-burning fireplace, cool air enters the firebox and ignites combustion, feeding the flames. This passionate chemistry produces smoke, which dances over the roof of your house after passing through the chimney.
Unfortunately, some of the byproducts do accidentally leak into the living area, which eventually poses serious health and safety risks. But this procedure also generates heat, which heats up the area close to the fireplace.
But the fire must be fed to stay lit. Kindling, wood, and other combustible materials can be used to keep the flames lit, but as soon as you stop adding fuel, the fire will start to burn and eventually die down.
However, traditional fireplaces that burn wood aren’t the most efficient because most of the heat is absorbed through the chimney.
2. Gas Fireplace
Gas fireplace efficiency is significantly greater than its traditional wood-burning counterparts.
Gas fireplaces push all of the heat they generate into the room rather than letting it be absorbed by the chimney’s masonry. They also have a more efficient combustion process, which results in a better source of heat.
Watch this YouTube video below to know how does a gas fireplace work and how to operate it.
3. Vented Gas Fireplaces
Vented gas fireplaces sometimes look like traditional wood-burning fireplaces.
The vent of these gas fireplaces passes through the wall of your home, much like a vent you could have in your bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room. They could also be placed away from the wall with roof vents.
This method prevents the entry of any potentially dangerous or offensive products that might enter your home.
If you consider dangerous carcinogens like carbon monoxide, vented gas fireplaces have a special appeal because there’s no chance that toxic gases will enter the interior because all of the air is vented outside.
4. Direct Vent Gas Fireplace
Direct vent gas fireplaces look really different from vented gas fireplaces. Natural gas is used by direct vent gas fireplaces to heat up the air that is pulled from the outside,
They don’t resemble traditional fireplaces because they’re enclosed in glass and lack a chimney.
Direct vent gas fireplaces vent their pollutants outside while pumping warm air directly into the house. This method is really effective because the warm air doesn’t escape through the chimney.
Here’s a YouTube video showing how does a direct vent fireplace works.
5. Ventless Gas Fireplace
These gas fireplaces operate similarly to a gas range. They can move gas outside and burn cleanly without any form of a vent. Natural gas is used in ventless gas fireplaces to burn the interior air.
Then the emissions are pushed into the home. The majority of modern models are equipped with carbon monoxide detectors and automatic shut-off valves that turn the ventless gas fireplace off when the oxygen levels in the room drop dangerously low. Despite these safety measures, ventless gas fireplaces have been known to reduce internal air quality.
6. Gas Logs
Gas logs may seem to be more of a traditional fireplace, rather than a state-of-art one.
It works by using gas to provide heat, while logs that are either made from birch wood or split oak are residing inside the fireplace.
Gas logs fireplaces can be installed inside existing areas created specifically to house a fireplace, and can also work in vented and ventless modes, depending on the installation.
According to our experts, ventless installation modes can burn in a more effective manner, but they look a bit more fake than other options.
Therefore, picking the style in which it’ll be installed is important, and more important than what most of the users would feel.
Summary
We already answered your question, “How does a gas fireplace work?”, while explaining different types of gas fireplace parts and types.
You have multiple options when choosing a gas fireplace, and understanding different parts of the gas fireplace, and how such parts can influence the style in which it’ll be installed and function increases the importance of this guide.
Regardless of how long you’ve had your fireplace, it’s always helpful to understand how does a fireplace work. And to have it regularly cleaned and checked up at least once a year. The longer you let the chimney flue go without cleaning, the more creosote accumulates inside it.
Do you still have any questions regarding how does a gas fireplace work? Leave it in the WarmthPedia comments below, and we’ll answer you as soon as possible.