Buying a freestanding stove doesn’t have to cost a lot of money and it doesn’t have to run up your energy bill. FastFireplaces.com has introduced a selection of pellet stoves that will efficiently keep your home warm.  Wood pellet stoves look just like a regular wood stove or fireplace insert, but burn wood pellets instead of the traditional costlier sources such as fossil fuel, firewood and natural gas.

The pellets are tightly compacted wood byproducts made of sawdust, wood shavings, or peanut shells that are cheaper to buy than chopped wood.   Because wood pellets are dense, they are energy efficient, producing a high level of heat and a very low air pollution rate.  Most users only refill the stove once in the morning for a full day of heat.  The pellets burn completely leaving little ash build-up in chimneys (posing less of a hazard from chimney fires) and do not require cleaning as frequently as conventional wood-burning stoves.

Even better, freestanding pellet stoves are eligible for a 30% tax credit off the purchase price through the federal government’s Residential Energy Tax Credit.  This tax credit for green home improvement is part of the economic stimulus plan.  The 30% discount can be taken directly off your final tax bill for buying an environmentally friendly appliance.   More information about energy-efficient qualifications can be found at the Department of Energy’s Energy Star website.  If you want a stove to heat up your home, but don’t want to spend a lot of money to keep it running, FastFireplaces.com is a great place to purchase a wood pellet stove.

~Your Friends at FastFireplaces.com

Tired of paying a high central heating bill during the winter months?  Zone heating can lower your monthly heating bill by 20-40% while heating only the rooms you’re using and beautifying your home.

Zone heating with a heating appliance like vent free gas logs saves you money in several ways.  Ventless gas logs are a 99% efficient heating source, whereas the average central heating unit is only 85% efficient.  Your central heating system cycles on and off frequently, and loses efficiency as it warms up each time, similar to a car burning gas in stop-and-go traffic.  By contrast, vent-free gas logs take almost no time to warm up, and provide a steady, even heat.

Zone heating also saves you money by heating only the rooms that you are using, which allows you to turn down the thermostat on your central heat.  In addition, you can eliminate the tug-of-war that inevitably happens over the thermostat when the upstairs is too hot and the downstairs is too cold.  A set of unvented gas logs in the downstairs living areas or in the basement allows everyone in the house to have the exact temperature they desire.

Natural gas and propane gas logs are also a dependable source of heat.  If your electricity goes out, your central heating may go out as well, leaving you in the cold.  But natural gas and propane heating don’t depend on electricity to run, so even during a power outage, your house will be warm in cozy.  You’ll also have a beautiful source of light from the dancing flames!

FastFireplaces.com has a full selection of Peterson and Monessen vent-free gas logs for you to choose from.  These gas log sets burn clean natural gas and propane, and do not require a chimney or any venting to install.  Come check us out for the lowest prices on the Internet, guaranteed!

~Your Friends at FastFireplaces.com

A vented gas fireplace is not only attractive to look at, but it is also much safer and more efficient than a traditional wood-burning fireplace. As the name implies, a vented gas fireplace is a gas log fireplace that requires some type of ventilation to function, be it a chimney or other outer wall system. If your home does not have an existing chimney, you may want to consider other gas fireplace options, such as ventless gas logs or gel-fueled fireplaces. Vented gas fireplaces require a functioning chimney with the damper fully opened, in order to circulate the air for combustion and provide an outlet for low-burning soot.

Now, with that being said, the benefits of a Vented Gas Fireplace are quite advantageous. Here are just a few:

Lower Burn Temperature – Vented gas log fireplace sets have a very low burn temperature. In comparison, modern ventless gas log kits requires a very high burn temperature in order to avoid any emissions, such as carbon monoxide buildup. This is why the flames look so blue with a ventless fireplace. Since the burn temperature can be lower in a vented gas fireplace, the flames will be more similar in color and appearance to a traditional wood-burning flame. This added touch of realism is just what most people are looking for out of their gas fireplaces.

Safety - Vented gas fireplace are extremely safe. Unlike traditional wood-burning fireplaces, vented gas sets carry no risk of ember sparks or chimney fires. Plus modern natural gas and propane-powered fireplaces use valves to control the amount of gas flow. These valves are called Safety Control Pilots, and they regulate your fireplace by shutting off the gas once the pilot light is out. That way there are no unsafe gas build-ups. Ventless fireplaces have a carbon monoxide sensor that shuts the flames off in similar situations, but these are frequently electrically powered and can sometimes malfunction in the case of a power outage. This is why vented gas systems are preferred in houses that already have existing fireplaces.

Efficiency – Because vented gas fireplaces can burn at lower temperatures, they require less gas in order to function. Modern vented and ventless gas fireplace sets are very fuel-efficient, but a vented gas log kit does not require nearly as much fuel to burn. This means lower gas bills and more money in your pocket.

~Your Friends at FastFireplaces.com

Thinking of a gas fireplace, but confused about the differences between natural gas (NG) or propane (LP)?

We can help.

Natural gas is one of the best fuels known to man. Unlike oil, for example, natural gas is relatively clean burning and will not emit any unhealthy scents as part of its combustion process. It can be a bit more expensive than oil in bulk, but fortunately it is still cheap enough to be used effectively for heating your home. Amazingly enough, a gas fireplace powered by either natural gas or propane can actually heat small homes more efficiently than most furnaces.

If you are like most of us, chances are you already have plenty of natural gas appliances in your home which can make the process of installing a gas fireplace a breeze. From your dryer to your hot water heater, to your oven or stove and furnace, there are plenty of items in your house which may already use natural gas as their primary source of heating power. Provided you have at least one of these appliances in your home, you will already have a natural gas pipeline installed underneath your floorboards, making it far easier to install a natural gas powered fireplace if you do not already have one.

Then again there are some of people who will not be able to use the clean burning power of natural gas to power their fireplace, whether due to location or expense. Fortunately enough, you can run a gas fireplace on just about any type of gas – including the much more portable propane variety.

With propane you can easily take the power of gas to install a fireplace just about any place you can imagine. Since liquid propane comes in its very own tank, propane can be used to power a gas log fireplace even if there is no natural gas line for miles. Some propane gas fireplaces even have special compartments behind the mantel which will allow you to store any unsightly propane tanks while they are in use. A certified plumber or electrician can also help you run a small gas line into your fireplace so you can keep your propane tank safely locked up outside.

But how do they stack up against each other?
In some cases propane can actually be slightly more cost-effective than natural gas, but – it typically tends to burn a bit dirtier. The soot buildup from a propane burning gas log set can affect your gas fireplace’s looks and performance.  If you use propane to fuel your gas log fireplace, be sure to routinely perform a little maintenance and cleanup. Depending on how often you use your fireplace, you should take down the glass and clean the soot off of your propane burner once a season, or at least once a year.

However, some recent advances have given propane burners a cleaner boost, such as Hargrove’s System Four Optimized Burner. This gas log burner set was designed specifically to meet the challenge of a clean-burning propane fireplace. It uses controlled porting and optimal fuel to air ratios to create an extremely clean burning system that provides natural flame patterns and a full glowing ember bed, with much less carbon production than previous liquid propane systems. For more information on Hargrove’s System Four burner, you can check out our website at www.FastFireplaces.com.

~Your Friends at FastFireplaces.com