Wood Burning Stove
A wood-burning stove is a cooking or heating home appliance that uses wood or its products as its fuel source. The stove is made of solid metal and air controls that are controlled manually or automatically.
Wood Burning Fireplace
A wood-burning fireplace is just a regular fireplace that uses wood as its fuel source to heat the home. The firebox where the wood is fed is connected to a hollow flue that leads upwards to a chimney.
Gas Stoves
While a wood stove uses wood as its source of fuel, the gas stove uses combustible gases like propane, butane, syngas, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas as its fuel. The stoves are majorly used for cooking.
Gas Fireplaces
The gas-burning fireplace is known to be more cost-efficient (helps to reduce heating bills) and environmentally friendlier than the wood-burning fireplace because it uses gas as its fuel. It does not release smoke and the use of a chimney is not needed.
Gas Fireplace vs Wood Fireplace: Which is the best?
While they are both a way of heating our homes, they both have their pros and cons. The wood-burning fireplace has a more traditional feel to it. It is more suitable for homes in the countryside or suburbs. The gas-burning fireplace is modern and suitable for homes in urban areas and cities like condos and apartments.
When talking about which one is more efficient or environmental friendly, the gas-burning fireplace takes the crown. Since it doesn’t use wood no smoke is emitted, no ashes are left behind in the fireplace, there is no need for a chimney and it doesn’t require you to clean it as often as the wood-burning fireplace.
Converting a Wood Burning Fireplace to a Gas Burning Fireplace
Your wood burning fireplace can be converted to a gas burning fireplace, but you can’t convert your wood stove to a gas stove. You can either do it yourself or hire a professional although; it is advisable you hire a professional if you are not confident of your skills.
To convert your wood fireplace to a gas-burning fireplace, you will need to inspect your fireplace for any damage to the brick walls of the fireplace and the lining of the chimney. If any damage is discovered, then you have to invite a professional to clean and fix it before you convert it.
After inspecting and repairing the wood fireplace, the other things you will require are:
Gas lineGas logs (Vented or Vent less)Gas insert (Direct Vent or Vent-Free)Zero-Clearance Firebox
The Cost of Converting a Wood Burning Fireplace to Gas
The cost of converting a wood-burning fireplace to a gas-burning fireplace depends on the type of gas-burning place you want to install. The type of insert or log you select, the venting, gas plumbing, electrical work, the finishing materials, and the cost of labor if you are using the services of a professional.
The total cost of converting your fireplace can be a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $5,500.
Hiring a professional to inspect your fireplace can cost about $100 to $150. The cost of gas plumbing installation is usually within the range of $100 to $150 per hour. This price might be different in different cities.
To install a gas line, a vented or, vent less gas log, you might incur a cost of $500 to $2,500. The cost of installing vented gas logs is usually $200 lower than the installation cost of a vented gas log.
Yearly maintenance by professionals can cost you about $100.
Conclusion
The gas-burning fireplace is more cost and energy-efficient than wood, but the cost of changing your wood-burning fireplace to a gas-burning place is very high when hiring a professional to do it. Make sure higher the best professional so you can get a quality job done.
Can I convert my wood Burning Stove to Gas?
No, you cannot convert your wood-burning stove to gas.
Can You Install Gas Logs On Wood Burning Stoves?
No, you cannot install gas logs on wood-burning stoves.
Read here to know why wood is so expensive?
