Direct Vent Gas Fireplaces

Should You Consider a Direct Vent Gas Fireplace?

For many homeowners, there is nothing better than having a beautiful fireplace within their home.  This is because they are not only frequently needed for the cold winter nights, but they also offer a pleasing aesthetic appearance to the home.  Although many people have once chosen wood burning fireplaces, it is now much more convenient to use a gas fireplace instead.  While the traditional gas fireplaces are quite expensive to run, due to the extreme heat loss through the chimney, direct vent gas fireplaces are quickly becoming the most popular choice.

When looking at the comparison between traditional gas fireplaces and those that have a direct vent, it is found that there are many more advantages to choosing the direct vent gas fireplaces over the traditional design.  Many of those who have a propane or natural gas powered fireplace know that a lot of the fuel is lost out the flue as the warmed air escapes.  This loss of heat does not occur with those that are top or rear vented because there is no flue used for ventilation.  These fireplaces are much more efficient because most of the fuel is going to create usable heat.  Not only does this offer a much better savings for the homeowner, but it is better for the environmentally conscious as well.

There are many other benefits for those who are using the direct vent gas fireplaces, including safety and versatility.  With no flue for the air to escape, there is no concern about back-draft that can harm those living in the home.  Since it is much safer to use the direct vent variety, these can be running much more often with no cause for concern.  They may also be used to heat an entire small home or a large area of living space within a larger home because they are often considered to be too efficient.  With a fireplace offering an output of 20,000 BTU's per hour, as the direct vent variety can offer, there is often too much heat coming from these gas powered fireplaces.

When shopping around for a fireplace, many homeowners find that the direct vent models are much more versatile because they can vent either through a wall or up through the roof, so they can be placed just about anywhere within a home.  While having a fireplace is still considered to be a nice feature for a home to have, it seems as though the direct vent gas fireplaces are certainly becoming much more popular than the traditional models.