What’s the Most Efficient Home Heating Device?

For many people who choose to build their home, they naturally recognize that researching an efficient method of heating the house will be one of the best time investments they can make. The efficiency of your heating device and the insulating properties of your walls will be the biggest factors in how much you pay each month to heat the home. So many people want to know: what is the most efficient home heating device?

On my personal blog (fireplacescoop.com) I discuss questions like these in detail, but this article will attempt to provide a brief answer to this very important question. The answer is…. it’s the wrong question to ask!

Due to rapid advances in heating technology (relative to the history of home heating) you actually have two completely different heating units that achieve nearly 100% efficiency: the ventless gas fireplace and the electric fireplace. It’s the wrong question to ask because you have options. In economics terms, these two technologies are complimentary goods. In that case, instead of asking which one is more efficient, here are the questions you should really be asking:

• Which one is more environmentally friendly?
• Which one is cheaper to operate?
• Which one is easier to install?

The answer to these questions are very revealing. Here is the answer to each:

Which one is more environmentally friendly?

While the ventless gas fireplace produces very clean emissions, it is still producing CO2. However, while the electric fireplace is a zero emissions heating unit, the electricity produced by your power plant my not be zero emissions. As renewable energy slowly becomes more mainstream, this won’t be such a factor. However, in most places burning an electric fireplace is actually dirtier than burning an efficient ventless gas fireplace.

Which one is cheaper to operate?

In many parts of the country, the cost of BTU per dollar coming out of a ventless gas fireplace is actually much cheaper that the BTU per dollar cost of using an electric fireplace. One reason for this is energy density – gas can carry an extremely large amount of energy in a small space. The real answer is simply local economics and availability of natural resources.

Which one is easier to install?

This is the one place where the electric fireplace reigns supreme. It simply doesn’t get any easier. If you plan to heat your entire home with electric, then you may need to hire an electrician to wire it into a 220 volt outlet. However, most room heaters simply plug into the nearest outlet – making electric fireplaces both portable (in general) and easy to install. Some ventless fireplaces use ethanol and gel fuel canisters and are also portable, but most home heating applications, you’ll need to hire someone to install a gas line. Still, that’s a lot easier than building a mantel for a traditional fireplace.