Fireplaces have been in vogue for millennia. Even in the old days, every castle used to have large fireplaces around which people gathered for the sake of getting warm. Nowadays, fireplaces are added to homes for two particular reasons. The first one is to warm the place and the other is to enhance the home’s value. Fireplaces are seen not just as a way of heating the home but also as an interior décor item. This is part of the reason why the wood-burning fireplaces are slowly growing out of fashion. They can be difficult to deal with and aren’t available in many styles and designs. Gas or electric fireplaces have taken over as they are more versatile, flexible and cost-effective than wood-burning fireplaces. So, which of the two should you get? Gas or electric? Let’s find out.

Heat Production

You want your fireplace to be producing enough heat to warm the entire room. A gas fireplace does that effortlessly even at low settings. It can generate a lot of heat within a small time duration. You can easily warm a large room with your gas fireplace within minutes. While electric fireplaces can produce ample heat as well, their capacity for heat production falls well short to that of gas fireplaces. An electric fireplace might be a good option to use for heating a small room but it won’t be sufficient for warming up large spaces. With a gas fireplace, you won’t have to install multiple fireplaces in your home. A single gas fireplace would be enough to provide the heat you need.

Visual Appeal

Electric fireplaces are energy-efficient and don’t produce any harmful emissions. However, they don’t produce real flames. Since the electric fireplaces don’t combust a fuel but rather rely on generating heat using electricity, they look fake. You won’t get the same visual appeal with an electric fireplace that you can get with a gas fireplace. In gas fireplaces, natural gas is used as the fuel for combustion. This produces real flames and you can see them dancing inside the fireplace from far away. These flames can catch the eye of the people when they enter the home and garner their attention. Thus, if you are looking for visual appeal then a gas fireplace is the clear winner.

Fuel Availability

As mentioned above, gas fireplaces run on natural gas while electric fireplaces are operated using electricity. You will need a gas connection to get the gas fireplace working and supply of electric power for using the electric fireplace. While both fuels are readily available, natural gas is a more reliable fuel source than electricity. If there is a storm in your area and the power got cut, you will lose your ability to operate your electric fireplace. However, since gas supply doesn’t get cut during a power outage, you can still use your gas fireplace to warm your home. Moreover, you can even use propane gas tanks to power up a gas fireplace but you can’t operate an electric fireplace without electricity.

Home Fires is an established name in the residential and commercial heating industry in Australia. Feel free to contact us if you can’t decide between an electric and a gas fireplace.