Direct Vent vs. Wood Burning Fireplace

Direct Vent

• A direct vent fireplace is one that vents smoke either through a chimney or through a wall. The main distinction is that a traditional vertical chimney is not required to vent smoke upwards and out of the home. Instead, direct vent fireplaces typically have two pipes: one is to exhaust smoke to the outdoors and the other is used as an air intake pipe to bring fresh air into the home. In most installations, the exhaust pipe vents up a few feet, then elbows out through a wall to exhaust smoke and fumes. A direct vent fireplace can also vent directly through a roof of a single-story home that does not have a traditional chimney.

Wood-burning Fireplace

• Wood-burning fireplaces require direct ventilation. The smoke and byproducts produced when the wood is ignited and burning must be exhausted from the interior of a home to the outdoors. In most homes, a vertical chimney configuration is used to provide direct ventilation as this is the most efficient and effective way to ensure that the smoke from the fire rises upward and vents outdoors.

Similarities

• Direct-vent fireplaces and wood-burning fireplaces provide warmth and comfort. They can be simple units used to provide a source of heat or fancy and elaborate structures, adorned with embellished mantle units and hearths. They are most commonly installed for indoor use; however, you can also build and install a direct-vent or wood-burning fireplace for outdoor use. Direct vent and wood-burning fireplaces can be custom-built units with pipes that vent outdoors, or they can be prefabricated fireplace inserts. An insert is essentially a firebox that you can install within an existing or custom-built masonry surround.

Differences

• A direct vent fireplace can be fueled by wood, gas or oil while a wood-burning fireplace uses wood as the primary fuel. Gas fireplaces use artificial logs whereas wood-burning fireplaces use genuine natural wood logs for fuel. As a result, you can smell an aroma with a wood-burning fireplace while there is no natural wood odor with a direct vent fireplace that is fueled by gas or oil. You can, however, combine a wood-burning fireplace with a gas starter unit to make igniting the logs easier, but you cannot use wood to start a fireplace that is fueled by gas or oil. Another distinction is that direct-vent fireplaces can be installed as a zero-clearance unit, meaning that the fireplace has a self-contained firebox that can be inserted flush against a masonry wall. However, only wood-burning fireplace inserts can be installed as zero-clearance units. Technically, all non-wood-fueled fireplaces can be categorized as direct-vent fireplaces because they do not emit smoke and, consequently, do not require ventilation. The exact opposite is true of wood-burning stoves because they require ventilation, whether it is via a direct system or a traditional chimney system.