Natural Gas vs. Electric Fireplace Insert

[newton]

I would appreciate any assistance.  We tore out our fireplace insert and ventilation system.  We are planning on replacing with a more modern linear looking fireplace.  My wife wants to go natural gas and the direct vent insert she is looking at is $4500.  No way I can do that.  There are electric units for much less.  Anyone have any experience in this area??  She says the electric ones look cheap??

So thoughts on natural gas or electric??  Any good ideas on places to find a great deal for either??

[valsecito]

I would appreciate any assistance.  We tore out our fireplace insert and ventilation system.  We are planning on replacing with a more modern linear looking fireplace.  My wife wants to go natural gas and the direct vent insert she is looking at is $4500.  No way I can do that.  There are electric units for much less.  Anyone have any experience in this area??  She says the electric ones look cheap??

So thoughts on natural gas or electric??  Any good ideas on places to find a great deal for either??

I know you haven't asked for the environmental aspects, but they might comfort you in agreeing with your wife...

Environmentally speaking, natural gas is far better for heating than electricity. Unless the natural gas stems from fracking, which is not exactly unlikely in the US...

[Blindsquirrel]

https://www.amazon.com/Duluth-Forge/b/ref=bl_dp_s_web_13607316011?ie=UTF8&node=13607316011&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=Duluth+Forge

 check out the ones on Amazon. We got the 32,000 btu and love it.

[dilinger]

I would appreciate any assistance.  We tore out our fireplace insert and ventilation system.  We are planning on replacing with a more modern linear looking fireplace.  My wife wants to go natural gas and the direct vent insert she is looking at is $4500.  No way I can do that.  There are electric units for much less.  Anyone have any experience in this area??  She says the electric ones look cheap??

So thoughts on natural gas or electric??  Any good ideas on places to find a great deal for either??

I know you haven't asked for the environmental aspects, but they might comfort you in agreeing with your wife...

Environmentally speaking, natural gas is far better for heating than electricity. Unless the natural gas stems from fracking, which is not exactly unlikely in the US...

I kind of depends on where your electricity comes from. Where I live, it comes from hydro power; so natural gas is worse.  If you live somewhere where your electricity is generated from coal, then natural gas would be better (less carbon emitted).  If your electricity is coming from solar panels, then natural gas is worse.

As far as "looking cheap" - I always thought anything other than a real wood fire in a fireplace looked cheap.

[triangle]

I believe an important factor is whether this is primarily for heating or ambiance. We have natural gas powered logs in a traditional fireplace (not using any sort of insert), which requires the damper to be open while burning. So it provides a fire but a lot of the heat is lost. It will barely keep the room warm. An gas insert should be a lot more efficient than an open fireplace but when compared to an air tight electric system energy costs may even out, leaving it down to a question of looks vs costs.

I cannot put myself into your situation or preferences. Personally I consider gas logs as fake as electric when compared to a traditional fireplace, but I understand that most people including myself would prefer looking at a real flickering flame anyway. But when considering the costs and bigger picture of this being for show more than heat (in my house) I would also have a bias towards an electric unit.

[BudgetSlasher]

depend on your costs as well. Here, BTU for BTU, just about anything beats electric (propane/oil/natural gas/wood/pellets/coal/and so on), but natural gas is better than most of those.

So how are you going to use it; for an actual heat source for the home, or as a pretty thing to turn on and look at for a few moments a day on the dreary winter days?

Here is a link to a heating fuel cost comparison spreadsheet so you can input your own local costs and need the different in operating cost (per million BTU) https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjJvvvF-c7PAhVs7YMKHSD8AIAQFgghMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fag.purdue.edu%2Fextension%2Frenewable-energy%2FDocuments%2FON-Farm%2Fheatcalc.xls&usg=AFQjCNHwk90QWooV4y2R1blXDVJwcVPLrg&sig2=BpliReGngDYu7KFIJ8aQwA

it doesn't have electric and natural gas fireplaces, but you can look at room heaters for a close approximation (and don't forget to adjust their z5 efficient if you know them).

[Metric Mouse]

I put a gas insert into my basement when I finished it last year. Love it.

The electric ones have come a long way in the past few years. They did indeed use to look very cheap (IMO). Now there are rather nice ones.

Nat. Gas is a waste product from oil production. It's flared off at many, many pump sites around the USA. It's probably better for you to use it to heat your house than for it to be flared off; at least that energy is being put to productive use.