How Can Your Direct Vent Fireplace Cut Your Fuel Bill by 50%?

There’s nothing like the warm glow of a fireplace when it’s cold outside. Just the appearance of a real fire flame can warm any living space. But a direct vent fireplace can offer a whole lot more.

When used properly, a direct vent fireplace can act as the sole heating source in some homes and save a bundle in home heating costs. In fact, a 25,000 BTU direct vent fireplace can heat up to a 1500 square ft. one-floor living space.

How can heating with a fireplace save me money?

First, we’re not talking about any fireplace, but specifically a direct vent fireplace. Direct vent fireplaces operate differently than an open hearth fireplace. An open hearth fireplace (commonly called a B Vent) is characterized by a log set inside an open front masonry or rated fire box. A B vent is primarily for appearance, not for heating the space. It combusts the indoor air and can actually cool the air in living space. That’s because already heated air is drawn from the living space up through the flue or chimney to the outside.

What is a direct vent fireplace?

Unlike a “B” vent fireplace, a direct vent fireplace is characterized by:

A solid glass door that isolates the burner and log set from the inside of the home. A concentric flue. With this flue, an exhaust pipe sits inside the air intake pipe (a pipe within a pipe). Instead of combusting heated inside air, all of the combustion air enters the firebox from outside through the outer pipe. Flue gas emissions are expelled to the outside through the inner pipe. Most new fireplaces sold are direct vent, especially in new residential homes.

A direct vent (concentric) flue can be vented through the wall or roof with a single 7″ or 8″ hole. All of the combustion takes place inside of a self-contained box housing the burner and log set. The flame never “touches” the indoor air because it is isolated by a solid glass front. As the glass gets hot, soft radiant heat energy is emitted into the living space of the home that, over time, heats the surrounding air.

In reality, a direct vent fireplace is a heater, but is only about 70% efficient. Most are not even heater-rated. So, here’s the key to energy savings: Instead of letting your 100,000 BTU gas furnace(s) blow warm air into every room, nook and cranny of the house, why not just heat the room where you spend the most time? This is called “zone heating” and is a practical method to decrease your living expenses during the cold months.

I have a direct vent fireplace in the family room located on the main level of our house. This space is used for entertainment, reading and eating (since the room is attached to the kitchen and dining area). We spend at least 85% of our time in this area of the home during the winter. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a formal living room and an office are all connected to this space. As long as doorways are open to the main family living area, the fireplace will warm those areas also.

The first principle of thermal dynamics is “heat seeks cold”. As long as there are cold pockets in rooms or adjacent spaces, the heat from your fireplace will attack those cold spots. It may take a bit longer than your furnace system, but over time your space will become warm and comfortable. A ceiling paddle fan can help circulate the heated air to adjacent living spaces.

This winter, keep your furnace(s) turned down or turned off more often and use your direct vent fireplace as your primary heat source. While we can’t guarantee that it will heat your entire home, it can dramatically lower your monthly heating bill. Give it a try.

 

WALL THIMBLE DIRECT VENT

“SIMPSON DURAVENT” WALL
THIMBLE EXHAUST VENT PIPE
For direct vent gas stoves
and fireplaces
Wall thimble provides for a
complete pass through and
fire stop
For 6-5/8″OD exhaust vent
pipe
Galvanized finish
Exterior laser welded seams
For use with direct vent gas
appliances vented horizontally
Replaces Ace no. 4167292

(more…)

Direct Vent Fireplace – How Can They Keep you Warm?

Direct vent fireplaces can be the perfect addition for homeowners who either don’t have a working chimney or has one that is in bad shape. There are other advantages to vented fireplaces as well that you may want to know about.

With a direct vent fireplace there is no need for a chimney to vent in to. Instead, the vent can go right out a side wall in the home. That is a huge advantage in many cases when it would be quite costly or nearly impossible to go up through a chimney.

This also gives you options in being able to vent the fireplace in virtually any location you need to.

A direct vent fireplace will burn either natural gas or propane, which makes this type of fireplace very efficient.

It also lowers heating bills and creates little carbon dioxide. This is an important safety consideration for anyone.

Prices for a direct vent fireplace can range from a $1,000 and up. It all depends on your budget and the model you decide on.

Installation of any direct vent fireplace is much easier and less expensive than your typical gas fireplace. That’s another point to consider.

The selection and choice of these fireplaces are immense. You can choose options ranging from glowing life-like embers to the crackling sounds of a real fire.

They also come in traditional and new age designs as well. The bottom line; direct vent fireplaces have come a long way over the years and give any homeowner a great option for heating their home.

Vent Free, Direct Vent or Fully Vented Fireplaces – How to Choose the Right One

First, let’s get an understanding of the venting used for each type of fireplace. The word “venting” refers to the means the fireplace uses to vent its exhaust safely from the room. In the case of Vent Free, exhaust is vented directly into the room. In a Vent Free system, the consumption of gas is limited to a maximum of 40,000 BTU per hour to help prevent the room from being “starved” of oxygen. In a Direct Vent system, a double vent pipe is used (pipe within a pipe). The outer pipe draws fresh air from outside to feed the combustion process while the inner pipe vents out the exhaust from the combustion. A Fully Vented system, including a B-Vent system, uses either a masonry chimney or a B-Vent (double wall metallic pipe). Now that we touched on the three primary methods of venting, we can take a closer look at the pros and cons of each.

1. Vent Free – As mentioned, a Vent Free system vents its exhaust directly into the room. In other words, it does not use a chimney at all. As you can imagine, this can cause a carbon monoxide concern as this system continuously uses oxygen from the room it’s being used in. For this reason, Vent Free systems are equipped with an oxygen detection safety pilot which detects when the oxygen level falls below 18%. If this occurs, the gas will automatically be shut off. The pros for this type of fireplace? You can install them almost anywhere in your home. They are very efficient, meaning you get almost 100% of the heat benefit from the fuel you are burning (the heat is not escaping outdoors). The downsides of this type of burning system? You need to buy specific types of burners/log sets specially made for Vent Free systems. You cannot burn wood in them nor regular vented log sets nor other specialty vented products. If you have respiratory-related health conditions, you may want to think twice before installing this type of system.
2. Direct Vent – A Direct Vent system pulls fresh air in and sends its exhaust out through a combined flu system. The flu pipe vents either out of the top or out of the back of the fireplace, for versatility. The flu pipe generally exits through a side wall in your room. The positives for this type of fireplace? No chimney is required, so less expensive to install than a Fully Vented fireplace. They are highly efficient and may be used as a gas wall furnace. If you like a fireplace with a sealed fire box (because of children, cats, etc.) this style may work well for you. The cons? You can’t burn wood in it. They require specific types of burners and logs so you cannot use specialty vented products in them. You are not supposed to burn them without the glass cover attached, as this disrupts the air flow in the balanced vent system.
3. Fully Vented – A Fully Vented system is what most of us think of when we think of a traditional fireplace. Most of us think of a fireplace having a full chimney (like the kind Santa Claus comes down). Usually we think of a brick and mortar chimney, but a Fully Vented fireplace can also incorporate a B-Vent flu (a double wall metallic pipe that rises up from the fireplace and out through the roof). Air for combustion comes from the room. The upsides of this type of fireplace? You can burn wood it in. You can purchase a model that helps to make it more heat efficient by having a fire box “float” inside a second box so that air can circulate around the fire box and back into the room. You can burn many kinds of vented fire logs and specialty vented fireplace products in this style of fireplace. Now the cons. For a new fireplace installation, you may spend more money having a chimney built than you would with the other styles. This style is less heat efficient than the other two styles.

Hopefully, you have a much clearer understanding of the three types of fireplaces that were discussed. After reading the various points on each, you may have very valid reasons for choosing one over the other to suite your needs. I’m glad this article helped you make this decision. Personally, I choose Fully Vented because I like the versatility of being able to use this type of fireplace for a number of different products. New products are coming out all the time and I don’t want to be restricted from using them. With Fully Vented, you can switch to different types of products as often as you choose.

U S Stove Company DV21-L Direct Vent Wall Heater

Direct vent 20,000 BTU LP gas requires no electricity. Mounts on any outside wall for direct venting. Matchelss Piezo ignition for easy lighting. Automatic shutoff and thermocouple safety valve. Built in thermostat with 1 dial control. 54 lb. Natural or L

(more…)

RINNAI DIRECT VENT WALL FURNACE

*****NO WARRANTY IMPLIED ON SURPLUS EQUIPMENT***** RINNAI DIRECT VENT WALL FURNACE

(more…)

U S Stove Company DV21-N Direct Vent Wall Heater

Direct vent 20,000 BTU LP gas requires no electricity. Mounts on any outside wall for direct venting. Matchelss Piezo ignition for easy lighting. Automatic shutoff and thermocouple safety valve. Built in thermostat with 1 dial control. 54 lb. Natural or L

(more…)