Nothing beats the warmth and comfort of a fireplace on a chilly night. There’s something nostalgic about staring in to the flames and hearing the embers pop as you curl up with your favorite book or movie. But did you know that old wood-burning fireplace is wasting energy, putting dust in your home and polluting the air in your neighborhood? Luckily, gas fireplaces offer a way to experience the thrill of a burning fire, while keeping your family and the environment safe from hazardous smoke. Here are a few reasons to choose a gas fireplace over a wood-burning one.

1. No Wood Is Needed.

Because a gas fireplace doesn’t burn any wood, you’re saved the effort of splitting, stacking and hauling logs. If you’re in a more urban area, you’ll be free from running to the store to purchase a pre-seasoned log every time the mood for a fire strikes. No wood also means no ashes, no smoky smells in your home and no chimney to clean.

2. It’s More Convenient.

Not only can a gas fire start with the flip of a switch or the push of a button, there are thermostats to control the flame size. The temperature of the fire can be adjusted in seconds and there’s no worry that the flames will die out. That fire will stay lit until you turn it off.

3. It Wastes Less Energy.

Gas fireplaces are more energy efficient than their wood-burning counterparts. A chimney is unnecessary with a gas fireplace, so no hot air escapes up the flue. In fact, a gas fireplace returns between 75 and 99 percent of its energy back as heat. A wood burning fireplace only returns between 10 and 30 percent.

4. It’s Better For The Environment.

Any wood-burning appliance made after 1990 is required to be EPA-certified. However, these fireplaces still emit much more pollution than their gas-burning counterparts. A wood-burning fireplace expunges about 28 pounds of particulate emissions per MMBtus of heat output, while a gas fireplace produces only .28 pounds per MMBtus.

Wood burning fireplaces may offer those crackling flames we all love to gaze at, but they’re simply not the most efficient way to heat your home. If you’re looking for a way to enjoy the warmth and comfort of a fireplace, while keeping your family and the environment safe from harmful pollutants, a gas fireplace could be the perfect fit in your home. Schedule a free in-home consultation with one of our experts to find the right gas fireplace for you.

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.

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.