The Disadvantages of a Gas Fireplace

Expense

• Depending on where you live, natural gas may be very expensive, making running your natural gas fireplace financially burdensome. The cost of wood also varies depending on where you live, since in some areas you can obtain your own wood on your property or purchase it inexpensively at local stores.

Length of Use

• You can run a wood-burning fireplace for hours at a time, as long as you keep an eye on it and continue to stoke the fire. With gas fireplaces, though, manufacturers place a limit on how long you may safely operate the fireplace, which may be as little as two hours. Depending on how you plan to use your fireplace, certain gas fireplaces may present a problem as they cannot stay lit for as long as you would like.

Smell

• Because a wood-burning fireplace uses wood as its fuel source, it puts out different smells depending on the type of wood it burns. Gas fireplaces do not put out different smells, since they only burn natural gas. If you like to fill your house with the scent of burning wood during the winter, creating a certain feel, then gas fireplaces are not for you. When you first fire up a gas fireplace, either for the first time or after not using it for an extended period of time, the fireplace may give off a strange smell -- like your furnace the first time you use it after the summer is over.

Utility Outages

• Gas fireplaces operate as they burn natural gas, which comes through a gas utility line for your house. If, for any reason, the flow of natural gas to your home is interrupted, such as by a crew digging in the area and hitting the gas line, your fireplace will not work. If your furnace also runs on natural gas, you will have no way to heat your home. Since a wood-burning fireplace works with only wood as its fuel source, it does not depend on the functioning of any utilities to provide heat for your house. Not being able to heat your house when the temperatures are very cold outside can lead to pipes in your house bursting as the water inside freezes, flooding your home.

Ventless Gas Fireplaces

• Ventless gas fireplaces do not have an exhaust duct that runs up through the house’s attic and out the roof, or through an exterior wall to vent the exhaust produced from burning natural gas inside the fireplace. Instead, the ventless gas fireplaces have a catalytic converter similar to the one on your car’s exhaust to scrub any harmful properties out of the fireplace’s exhaust. In the event of a malfunction, though, your house could fill with carbon monoxide, presenting a safety risk to anyone in the house. Also, the water vapor from the exhaust can produce condensation inside your house, potentially leading to wet rotting or mold in your walls and ceilings.