Gas, Wood, Pellet or Electric? Choosing Your Fireplace Fuel
Choosing a fireplace fuel comes down to one question: is the fireplace mainly for heat, or mainly for the look of a fire? For dependable heat with the least effort, choose gas. For a real wood fire, choose wood if you do not mind the work, or pellets for wood heat on a thermostat. For the look of a fire and the simplest installation, choose electric. Here is the reasoning, for homes in Downers Grove and the western suburbs.
Why fireplace fuel matters
The fuel decides more about your fireplace than the style does. It sets how much heat you get, what the installation needs, how much work you do, whether it works in a power cut, and what the fire looks and sounds like. Get the fuel right and the size, the style and the surround fall into place.
Gas: dependable heat at the press of a button
A gas fireplace is the most common choice in the western suburbs. Natural gas runs down most streets here, and a gas fireplace turns it into real heat and a real flame the moment you press the remote.
Most modern gas fireplaces are direct-vent. The firebox is sealed behind glass, it draws its air from outside, and it exhausts through a pipe that can run straight out a side wall. No chimney is needed, so it can go on almost any outside wall.
You get heat you can set with a thermostat or a remote, no ash to carry, and a flame over ceramic logs or fire glass that is hard to tell from wood. With a millivolt or battery-backed ignition, the fire still works when the power is out.
It asks for a gas line and a vent run, which is why gas costs more to install than electric, and for one service visit a year. The flame is real, but it is not a wood fire, and some people miss the crackle.
Wood: the real fire, and the real work
Nothing else gives you the smell of the logs, the crackle and the deep radiant heat of a wood fire. It needs no gas line and no electricity, so it keeps a room warm through any outage.
The catch is efficiency. An open masonry fireplace sends most of its heat up the flue and pulls warm room air up with it. A modern wood insert or stove, with a closed firebox and a glass door, keeps far more of that heat in the room and sends far less smoke up the chimney.
Wood also asks the most of you. You need split wood and a dry place to stack it; wood that has dried for a year burns hotter and cleaner than green wood. You carry the wood in and the ash out. The chimney needs a sweep and an inspection every year; the national fire-safety standard, NFPA 211, recommends an annual inspection of every chimney in use.
Choose wood if the ritual is part of the appeal. For wood heat without the ritual, read on.
Pellet: wood heat on a thermostat
A pellet stove or insert burns small pellets of compressed sawdust, sold in 40-pound bags. You pour a bag into a hopper. A motor feeds the pellets into a small, hot fire a few at a time, a fan pushes the heat into the room, and a thermostat decides how fast they feed.
That gives you steady, adjustable heat from a wood fuel, with far less ash than logs and no splitting or stacking. The vent is a small pipe through the wall or a liner up the existing chimney, not a full masonry flue.
It needs electricity for its motor and fans, so it stops in an outage unless it has a battery backup. You carry bags in and keep them dry, you empty the burn pot and ash pan regularly, and it gets a service once a year. You will also hear the fan, quietly.
Electric: the look of a fire, plugged in
An electric fireplace is the simplest of the four. It plugs into an ordinary outlet, needs no vent and no gas line, and usually needs no permit, so it can go in a condo, a bedroom or a basement where nothing else could.
The flame is an effect, and a good one now: LED flames and, on some models, a fine water mist that flickers like real fire. It runs with or without the heater, so you can have the look on a mild evening without warming the room.
The limit is heat. On a standard 120 V outlet an electric fireplace is capped at about 1,500 W, roughly 5,000 BTU. That takes the chill off one room; it does not heat an open main floor, and it stops when the power does. Upkeep is dusting.
The electric fireplaces are lit on our showroom floor, so you can judge the flame for yourself. The gas, wood and pellet units are on display beside them, so you can stand in front of each one and see the size.
Running cost, in words
Running cost depends on your utility rates and how often you use the fire, so here is the shape of it rather than numbers.
- Gas costs more to install than electric and less to run for the heat you get. In this area natural gas has generally been the cheaper way to make a given amount of heat.
- Electric costs the least to buy and install, and the most for each unit of heat. The flame effect on its own costs very little.
- Wood can be the cheapest fuel of all if you have a supply. Bought by the cord, its price varies, and your time comes on top.
- Pellets come by the bag or the pallet, so the cost is easy to see before the season starts.
Fireplace fuels at a glance
| What matters | Gas | Wood | Pellet | Electric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | High, on a thermostat | High in a stove or insert, low in an open fireplace | High and steady | Modest, one room |
| Works in a power cut | Yes, with millivolt or battery ignition | Yes | Only with a battery backup | No |
| What it needs | A gas line and a vent run | A chimney and wood storage | A small vent pipe and an outlet | An outlet |
| Your work | Press a button | Carry wood and ash | Fill the hopper, empty the ash | None |
| Yearly upkeep | One service visit | Sweep and inspection | One service visit | Dusting |
| The flame | Real, over ceramic logs | Real | Real, small and bright | An effect |
| Best for | Everyday heat with no effort | The full fire experience | Wood heat without the handling | Looks, condos, bedrooms |
Changing the fuel in a fireplace you already have
Many homes around Downers Grove have an open masonry fireplace that hardly gets used, because it is a lot of work for very little heat. The opening can take a different fuel.
The most common change is to gas. A gas insert is a sealed firebox that slides into the opening and vents through a new liner up the chimney, turning the old hearth into a controllable heater. A vented gas log set is the simpler option: it keeps the open look and gives a fire at the push of a button, with less heat than an insert.
To keep burning wood, a wood insert fits the same opening and keeps more of the heat in the room. A pellet insert fits it too. If the chimney is unsound, or you are in a condo where the flue cannot be touched, an electric insert drops in and plugs in.
The other direction is closed: a direct-vent gas fireplace cannot be changed to burn wood, because its firebox and vent are not built for it.
Common questions
Can I burn wood in a gas fireplace?
No. A gas fireplace’s firebox, glass and vent are made for gas only; wood would damage them and put smoke into the house. It works the other way round: a sound wood fireplace can take a gas insert or a gas log set.
Which fuel works when the power goes out?
Wood always does. Gas does on a unit with a millivolt or battery-backed ignition, which is most of them. A pellet stove and an electric fireplace both stop unless there is a battery backup or a generator.
Is natural gas or propane better?
They are the same appliance set up for a different fuel. If your street has a gas main, natural gas is the easy choice; if not, propane from a tank does the same job. Tell us which you have, because the unit is built for one or the other.
What about ethanol fireplaces?
An ethanol fireplace burns a liquid fuel you pour into a small burner. It needs no vent, so it can sit on a table or in a wall recess. But it gives off very little heat, the burner needs frequent refilling, and the fuel comes by the bottle. Think of it as a decoration, not a way to warm a room in January.
Talk it through in the showroom
A Fireplace Store and More is at 1202-B 75th Street in Downers Grove, open seven days. Bring a photo of the wall or the opening, or just the question. We size it, quote it in writing and install it with our own team. Book a showroom or in-home visit, ask for a written estimate, or call (630) 241-1919.