Cash Rebates and Incentives for High-Efficiency Gas Fireplaces in Oregon

Interested in saving more on your Gas Fireplace? The Energy Trust of Oregon offers some great cash incentives when you install a qualifying Direct-Vent Gas Fireplace in your home. Additionally, the Oregon Department of Energy offers a state tax credit for high-efficiency Direct-Vent gas units you have installed. This includes zero-clearance gas fireplaces, gas fireplace inserts, and gas stoves. Upgrading to a high-efficiency fireplace, especially with the monetary incentives that are currently available, can save lots of energy and reduce your costs.

Energy Trust of Oregon Rebates

To be eligible for the Energy Trust rebates, there are four important requirements to keep in mind when choosing your fireplace. The unit you have installed must: have a Direct-Vent system, be equipped with an Intermittent Pilot Light (IPI), have a Fireplace Efficiency (FE) rating of at least 70 percent, and be listed as one of the Energy Trust’s qualifying models.

The Energy Trust rebate amount has two tiers, depending on efficiency:

• $250 for units with a 70% – 74.9% Fireplace Efficiency (FE) rating.
• $350 for units with a 75% or greater (FE) rating.

For example, this Heat n Glo Supreme I30 gas insert (shown right) has an efficiency (FE) rating of 72.7 percent, and qualifies for $250 Energy Trust Rebate, as well as a state tax credit.

Talk with one of our sales representatives to learn more about what fireplaces and stoves qualify for rebates.

Oregon State Tax Credits

Direct-Vent gas fireplaces, inserts and stoves with an efficiency (FE) rating of at least 70 percent also qualify for tax credits through the Oregon Department of Energy. This is another great incentive to install a new and efficient heat source in your home.

The eligibility requirements for the Oregon State tax credits are:

• $350 for units with a 70% – 74.9% Fireplace Efficiency (FE) rating.
• $550 for units with a 75% or greater (FE) rating.

For example, this Quadrafire Sapphire gas stove (shown left) has an efficiency (FE) rating of 76.0 percent, and qualifies for both the $350 Energy Trust of Oregon rebate AND a $550 Oregon Department of Energy state tax credit. That is a $900 value!

Call or stop by our Portland, OR location to speak to a sales representative about these Energy Trust rebates and tax credits, and find a qualifying fireplace or stove that is suitable for your home. You can find location information for our Portland Fireside location here.

We offer professional in-house installation on all of our jobs and our expert sales team can meet you at your home prior to your purchase to make sure that the unit you are looking at is the right fit. It’s also a great way to make sure you are installing a unit that will be both energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Now is a great time to make the decision to upgrade your old fireplace and take advantage of these savings and incentives.

What is a Zero Clearance Fireplace?

The process of picking out a new fireplace, or upgrading your current one, can be overwhelming. There are so many choices of materials, styles and sizes, where should you begin? A good place to start is by learning the definition of a zero clearance fireplace.

Zero clearance fireplaces come in all shapes and sizes. Zero clearance means the fireplace has its own insulation and it needs zero inches of clearance (distance) from combustible materials in the home. Basically a zero clearance fireplace is a self-contained firebox that is designed to be installed almost anywhere in your home. It doesn’t require the use of tile or stone surround the fireplace and you can even run sheetrock right up to the edge of the firebox.

There are a couple of different styles of zero clearance fireplaces. The traditional style resembles older masonry style fireplaces. Traditional style fireplaces can use wood or gas logs or inserts to heat a room. Blower fans can help to circulate warm air throughout the home. Newer models are designed more as efficient room heaters. Generally using only wood fuel, these fireplaces usually have heavy cast iron doors to minimize the loss of warm air up the chimney.

Zero clearance fireplaces do require a chimney for venting, but installation may be easier than you think. Usually, a few sections of stainless steel chimney pipe are run out of the top of the fireplace and up through the roof. The chimney pipe can be integrated in to the siding of you home, concealed with a masonry chimney chase, or just left as is.

A zero clearance fireplace can be installed almost anywhere in your home that needs some extra warmth or the ambience of a glowing fire. But they’re not for everyone. Stop by one of our showrooms to see if a zero clearance fireplace is right for your home.

Three Simple Ways to Clean Your Fireplace

What good is a night spent in front of the fire if your fireplace is too dirty to see the flames? Wood-burning fireplaces give off a lot of smoke and soot, which can build up on your glass doors over time. More than likely, you’re going to need something a little tougher than an everyday glass cleaner to get the job done. Here are a few ways to put the sparkle back in your glass doors.

1. Wash with ammonia.

Make a mixture of slightly diluted ammonia and water. The water helps keep the ammonia from evaporating and makes the job easier. Grab some paper towels, spray the glass, and begin to wipe it clean. It could take a few tries to get the window clear. If you have any spots with a lot of buildup, let the mixture sit for a while. When you’re done, wipe the glass clean with a dry cloth.

2. Fight ashes with ashes.

Take an old newspaper or cloth and dampen it. Then, dip the newspaper/cloth in your fireplace ashes and start scrubbing those doors. The ashes help to counteract the leftover residue. Once you’ve scrubbed it clean, grab a clean wet cloth and wipe the glass to remove the ash. You can finish with a spritz of glass cleaner and wipe it dry with a paper towel.

3. Get down to business.

If you have a lot of buildup on your glass doors, it may take more work to get it clean. A flat razor blade can remove caked-on deposits, just be careful not to scratch the glass. After you’ve scraped them clean, spray the doors down with a solution of white vinegar and water and wipe down with a paper towel or clean cloth.

These tips can keep your wood-burning fireplace doors looking like new. If you’re looking for a fireplace upgrade or just something a little lower maintenance, the experts at Fireside Home Solutions can help find the perfect fireplace for your lifestyle.

It’s the Middle of Summer…What is That Little Gas Flame Doing in My Fireplace?

The little flame you see in your gas fireplace after you have turned it off is called a pilot light. A Standing Pilot Light runs constantly, whether your fireplace is on or off.

“It’s the middle of summer, why do I feel heat from the front of my fireplace?” “Oh well…it’s only a little flame, it’s no biggy.”
Well that “no biggy” is costing you between $12 and $15 a month. Over the course of a year that’s up to $180, nearly two Benjamins!
Most of today’s gas direct vent fireplaces have an innovation called intermittent pilot ignition.

What that means is that you don’t have a pilot light burning in your fireplace year-round. When your fireplace is off, it’s all off. No gas is being consumed at all. Saving energy and saving you money. When you turn your fireplace on, a spark ignites a temporary pilot flame, which in turn lights up your fire. If you want to turn off your standing pilot light, learn more here about how to turn off the pilot light.

The intermittent pilot system, along with direct vent sealed combustion is one of the reasons that gas fireplaces are much more efficient now than they were only a few years ago.

So much so, that in some areas utility partners even offer rebates for replacing older fireplaces with newer more efficient ones; up to $250 in fact. That plus your savings over burning a pilot year around can add up to a $430 savings in the first year! If that isn’t enough incentive for you, some manufacturers offer instant online coupons as well. Typically around $100, but I’ve seen them as high as $500 depending on the time of year and brand of fireplace.

Check into how you can save money and conserve energy today by stopping by or calling one of our Washington or Oregon showrooms.
That little flame can be a big drain… on your pocket book!

Is Your Gas Fireplace Safe?

The vast majority of today’s gas fireplaces and gas fireplace inserts are designed as a sealed system known as “direct vent”. Direct vent fireplaces bring 100% of the air needed for the fire from outside the home and exhaust all of the combustion by-products outside the home as well. The result is a balanced system that increases efficiency, provides optimal heat, conserves energy and ensures a clean healthy indoor air quality.

A direct vent gas fireplace or fireplace insert has a sealed piece of tempered or ceramic glass on the face of the fireplace. As a result of normal operation of these fireplace products, the glass front will become very hot. It is not unusual for the glass to reach sustained temperatures of over 475° Fahrenheit. These high temperatures on the glass will cause severe burns if touched. While it may be evident that the glass is hot when the fireplace or fireplace insert is on, the unforeseen danger is when it is off. It’s easy for someone to enter a room when the fireplace is off not knowing it was recently burning. This is especially true if it is controlled by a thermostat. The glass can remain dangerously hot for up to an hour after the fireplace or fireplace insert has been turned off.

As a result, ANSI (American National Standards Institute) has revised the standards to which these products are manufactured requiring that they be equipped with a safety barrier to keep consumers from coming in contact with the glass. All direct vent gas fireplaces and fireplace inserts with a glass temperature exceeding 172° Fahrenheit manufactured on or after January 1st 2015 must comply with these revised standards.

That’s great for the future but what about your gas fireplace or insert now? One manufacturer has been providing safety screens on all of their direct vent products since 2003 and others have started providing safety screens as an option. If your fireplace came equipped with a safety barrier screen, don’t take it off. If it didn’t, there are some options available that can help.

One choice is to purchase a standing screen to place in front of your fireplace. These screens come in a variety of styles and sizes and are available at most retail hearth stores. Another option is to place a barrier in front of your fireplace or insert. These are products that are like a fence or gate and are usually made of multiple hinged steel frames so they stand on their own in front of the fireplace or insert. Standing screens and barriers can help but because of their portable nature they can be moved away from the glass and there goes your safety. The best protection remains a factory installed barrier. That’s why it is now in the process of becoming mandatory.

While anyone can inadvertently come in contact with a hot glass front, children and the elderly are most susceptible. Educate everyone in your home about the danger of hot glass and never leave a child unattended in a room with an unprotected fireplace.

Besides the safety that factory equipped barrier screens provide there are other benefits as well. For instance, barrier screens help to cut the reflective glare from the glass and actually enhance the beauty of the flame. It also adds realism to a gas fireplace. Most burn systems in gas fireplaces and inserts are designed and engineered to imitate a wood burning fire as closely as possible. If you think about it, all wood burning fireplaces have some sort of screen on the front to protect from popping sparks and embers. The barrier screen on a gas fireplace or insert simply adds to the realism.

Be sure to keep the factory installed barrier screen on your gas fireplace or insert and if it didn’t come with one, contact the manufacturer of your fireplace or insert to see if one is available.

Cook Your Next Meal on the Fireplace

If you have an outdoor fireplace, there’s a good chance you’ve roasted a marshmallow or two over it. There’s something extremely satisfying about perfectly cooking (or burning) those little puffs of sugar with nothing but a stick and the flames in front of you. So, why not extend that feeling of satisfaction to your entire meal? There are several ways to cook your dinner using your outdoor fireplace; the hard part is choosing what you want to eat.

4 ways to cook on your fireplace

On a stick.

Probably the simplest and most foolproof way to cook over a fire is with a stick. The easiest foods to cook with just a stick are marshmallows and hotdogs, but you can get fancy and wrap some refrigerated dough around your hotdog to create an at-home corn dog. The biggest downfall of cooking on a stick is that you’ll probably end up wasting some food, as it can fall off the sticks fairly easily. It also takes patience and a steady hand to ensure your food is cooked evenly and thoroughly.

With a rotisserie.

While quite a bit larger than a simple stick, fireplace rotisseries are still a fairly simple piece of equipment to use. Rotisseries are perfect if you’re looking to cook a big piece of meat, as they sit in front of the flames and slowly cook your food to perfection. Some rotisseries even come with two separate spits, so you can cook a chicken on one, and veggie kabobs on the other. One con associated with rotisseries is they’re best used for large pieces of meat, so they may not make sense if you’re cooking for one or two. They can also block your view of the flames during cooking time.

Pie iron cooking.

A pie iron is two shallow metal bowls (varying in shape), that fit together and are attached to a long handle. To use them, you fill the bowls will food, snap them together, and then cook. Pie irons are most commonly used to make Panini like sandwiches, but really, the sky is the limit with what you can cook in these gadgets. The hardest part about cooking with pie irons is determining when your food is fully cooked. You don’t want to open them too soon or your dinner won’t be done. Also, be sure to properly season your pie irons and cover the inside with butter or oil before cooking, so food doesn’t stick to the inside.

Use a Dutch oven.

Ideal for soups or stews, to cook with a Dutch oven over your outdoor fireplace, you’ll want to invest in a fireplace crane. This holds the pot above the flames and ensures even cooking. Most Dutch ovens are made of cast iron, which retains and distributes heat incredibly well. Essentially, you can use a Dutch oven the same way you would use a large pot on your stove; make soup, braise meat, even scramble eggs. The biggest issue in cooking with Dutch ovens is they’re heavy and you will need a fireplace crane to properly cook with one.

Try something new this summer and surprise your family with a truly outdoor dining experience. If you’re looking for an outdoor fireplace or have questions about whether one would work on your property, stop by one of our Fireside Home Solutions locations.

Save Money and Turn Off Your Pilot Light for the Summer

Your pilot light is probably the most forgettable thing in your house, contested only by your air filter and the fact that it’s now summer and you still haven’t done your “spring cleaning.” It’s out of the way, you can’t see it unless you look for it, and you probably don’t spend time near your fireplace since it is, again, now summer. Nevertheless, you’ll certainly remember that little pilot light when your bills are higher than they should be.

Save Money On Your Bills

Pilot lights, in case you don’t know, are a small, perpetually burning flame in the back corner of your fireplace that’s used to ignite the rest of your fire when you flick the switch. This flame is, obviously, a gas-lit flame, and is thus constantly pulling gas through the pipes and making your bill go up little by little. If you leave your pilot light on when you’re not using your fireplace, you’ll be paying for months of a service you’re not even using.

Additionally, well, it’s fire. And fire, well, creates heat. And, I say this again for emphasis, it’s summer now. So it’s hot outside. Your air conditioner is working itself crazy to keep your house cool, which it has to work harder to do with your pilot light doing its best Benedict Arnold. So in addition to your gas bill going up, your electric bill will be going up, as well.

Protect Your Fireplace

Meanwhile, the constant heat and gas could be damaging your fireplace. If your fireplace has glass panels, leaving your pilot light on for long periods of time (such as, say, over the summer) can cause sulfur buildup and permanently damage the glass. Additionally, an active pilot light can create moisture, which may collect inside the pipes and cause corrosion.
Turning off your pilot light is a simple process that will save you both energy and money. All you have to do is open the front of your fireplace, turn the Pilot knob to “off,” and then turn your gas shutoff valve to the “off” position as well. So stay cool, stay frugal, and stay tuned here at Fireside Home Solutions for all your fireplace needs.