Natural Gas Fireplaces
Product Overview

With so many styles of natural gas fireplaces and venting options available, there are almost no limits to where you can install one. You can create a warm ambiance or a bold statement with a natural gas fireplace anywhere in your home. Think about adding one to your kitchen renovation, the master bedroom or the family recreation room in the basement.

Natural gas fireplaces owe their ‘put it anywhere’ personality to the wide variety of design styles, venting options and installation possibilities available.

There are three basic types of natural gas fireplace.

A natural gas insert:   

• Natural gas inserts fit into existing masonry fireplaces and they are vented through the existing chimney.

• Most inserts are efficient heaters and feature fans and thermostat controls.

• With many designs and styles of gas insert available there is one to suit your décor and existing fireplace mantel or surround perfectly

A free standing natural gas fireplace:

• The name of this attractive and popular natural gas fireplace unit says it all – it is free standing; not surrounded by a hearth or a wood mantel. 

• Free standing natural gas fireplaces can look similar to a traditional wood stove.

• Venting for a freestanding unit is flexible, you can choose to vent it through an existing chimney or  through a roof or a wall.

• With such flexibility of venting, freestanding units can be installed almost anywhere in your home and are particularly popular for heating additions and basement living areas

• With six exposed surfaces, freestanding units are more effective at supplying heat to a room

Zero-clearance natural gas fireplace:

• The name of this highly popular and modern style of fireplace describes its main benefit clearly; they can be installed with zero clearance to combustibles. This means no space is required between the unit and combustible materials such as wood or wall boards.

• These units are factory built and are most typically installed during new home construction

• Direct venting is used for zero clearance natural gas fireplaces (see Direct Venting in our next section for details)

Venting 101 – A primer on removing combustion gases from your natural gas fireplace to the outdoors

Good news. There is a wide variety of venting options for natural gas fireplaces. This means you have freedom to choose exactly what type of fireplace you want (see above) and putting it exactly where you want it in your home without worrying about linking up to an existing chimney.

Natural draft venting
This venting style takes advantage of the fact that hot air rises up a vertical chimney. These units have a draft hood* that requires extra air from your home to isolate the burner from outside pressure fluctuations (wind on top of the chimney outside) which can make them less efficient than other types of venting. Natural draft fireplaces typically use b-vent or, in an existing chimney, an approved metal liner that includes a B-vent** or flexible metal liner.

Direct Venting
This venting style takes outdoor air in through one pipe to the firebox while combustion gases are taken outside through another. The venting pipes can be straight through an outside wall or they may extend for a limited distance horizontally or vertically through the house. Unlike natural draft venting no air from your home is used for combustion which makes this venting option  more energy efficient.

Power Venting
An electrical fan pushes combustion gases out  of the firebox  to the outdoors. Power vent units do not require a conventional flue and do not use any air from your home (similar to a direct vent style) making them more energy efficient than natural draft venting.

More natural gas features and options

Electronic ignition or continuous pilot light
A pilot light ignites the main burner of a natural gas fireplace. The other option is using electricity for ignition. The benefit of choosing a continuous pilot light is that your fireplace will function and warm your home even if there is a power outage.

Variable-setting controls and thermostats
A variable-setting control gives you the freedom to adjust how much heat comes out of your fireplace. This feature, also known as ‘turndown’ enables you to maintain a comfortable temperature in your room while still enjoying the look of glowing embers and flickering logs. A benefit of a variable-setting control is that you may use less natural gas by avoiding the energy loss that results when a fireplace repeatedly cycles on and off.

An automatic thermostat control keeps the room temperature at a constant level by controlling how much or little heat is allowed to radiate from your fireplace. This excellent feature increases your comfort levels and can reduce energy consumption.

Heat exchange and transfer
A natural gas fireplace has a ‘heat exchanger’ that circulates heat by radiation and convection. Radiant heat transfers heat to solid objects such as furniture, walls and people but not the air. With radiant heat you will feel warm even though the air around you  may be cool. The hotter your fireplace, the more heat it will radiate.

Variable-speed fireplace fans
This feature can increase the amount of convective heat supplied by the fireplace by forcing hot air into the room from the firebox.