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When all your conditioned air that your heat & AC bills paid for gets drawn up a flue...
the double side hearth allows that to be done with a more efficient distribution.
Fireplaces can be romantic.
Have one OUTSIDE... maybe in the 3 season gazebo.
When all your conditioned air that your heat & AC bills paid for gets drawn up a flue...
the double side hearth allows that to be done with a more efficient distribution.
Fireplaces can be romantic.
Have one OUTSIDE... maybe in the 3 season gazebo.
Oh, that does sound romantic!
We actually want this fireplace to be a source of heat in the winter in the main house. So AC won't be on at all. Williamsburg can get cold in January, and sometimes February. We want to have a fireplace heating the rooms we mostly hang out in, instead of paying high bedrooms, etc. when we aren't using them.
We actually want this fireplace to be a source of heat in the winter in the main house.
Fireplaces are about the absolutely WORST way to heat a home.
Closing off dis-used spaces is about the second worst way.
A high efficiency GAS forced air furnace is about the best way.
These are based in designs that recirculate ALL the air in the home.
otoh... if the home is truly so large that you can anticipate not using a lot of it
for a substantial portion of the year... well, then it's too large a house.
Better to spend on granite showers in a 1200sf home you can afford to heat
than tile in a 2400sf home you have to worry about how to heat
As other have responded, having a gas fireplace to heat a house during cold weather is rather inefficient. However, if you will be using it as a backup source of heat during a winter power outage, then I totally endorse it. I have a propane gas fireplace on my longest dining room wall (because it's the most central and largest room in the house) as my backup heat source in the event of a power outage, even though I have a whole house generator as well. It's beautiful and really gives a Craftsman look to the dining room, and would be very romantic as well (not a likely need, haha). One of the best investments I ever made.
I certainly would not let a fireplace be a deal breaker if I found a nice house. But as mentioned they are not efficient for heating. Unless you use a liner and with a double sided that is not going to happen.
we had a double sided gas fireplace when we lived in Reno, one side was in the dining room, the other in the living room. It looked nice but it wasn't really functional, you almost had to sit on it to feel any warmth from it.
I think the efficiency may depend on the actual gas unit.
We have a "non traditional" double sided FP. It's a long center wall. The FP on the living room side is toward one side of the wall. The FP on the kitchen side is higher and on the other edge of the wall. We converted the living room side to gas but left the kitchen side as wood. The living room gas FP heats the room beautifully. We don't use it to heat the entire house though.
As a backup for power outages - again, I'd check the specs of the actual unit. Our gas FP requires both gas AND electric so when the power is out it won't start. We left the wood FP in the kitchen in place for that reason.
If you really are considering the house and the gas FP is a major factor, find out the manufacturer and discuss it's capabilities with a local company who installs them.
I think the efficiency may depend on the actual gas unit.
We have a "non traditional" double sided FP. It's a long center wall. The FP on the living room side is toward one side of the wall. The FP on the kitchen side is higher and on the other edge of the wall. We converted the living room side to gas but left the kitchen side as wood. The living room gas FP heats the room beautifully. We don't use it to heat the entire house though.
As a backup for power outages - again, I'd check the specs of the actual unit. Our gas FP requires both gas AND electric so when the power is out it won't start. We left the wood FP in the kitchen in place for that reason.
If you really are considering the house and the gas FP is a major factor, find out the manufacturer and discuss it's capabilities with a local company who installs them.
Ours didn't require electricity, there was a valve on the floor with a handle you simply turned that and held a match inside the fireplace, and it did work well for power outages but given the amount of gas it used compared to the heat output of a forced air gas furnace it was certainly not an efficient means of heating the house.
Ours didn't require electricity, there was a valve on the floor with a handle you simply turned that and held a match inside the fireplace, and it did work well for power outages but given the amount of gas it used compared to the heat output of a forced air gas furnace it was certainly not an efficient means of heating the house.
Some friends are in a house that has one like that. I have to admit it would be handy in case of outages. The newer ones - for good or bad - have a remote. Just what our living room needed is another remote. It is convenient though.
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It is convenient though.
