What is a "ventless" gas heating product?Ventless gas heaters, fireplaces, fireplace inserts, stoves and log sets are heating appliances designed to be installed and operated without a chimney, flu or vent. Ventless products can be used with either natural gas or propane, and are intended to provide supplemental heat to a home. Because there is no vent, flue or chimney required, all of the heat generated by the product goes directly into the home. That's why ventless products are 99.9 percent energy efficient.
What are the benefits of ventless heating products?Ventless gas heaters, fireplaces, stoves and log sets offer homeowners a safe and energy efficient way to add heat to their homes. Ventless gas appliances use precision burners and are design-certified by national testing laboratories to meet the latest national health and safety standards and guidelines.
What are some of the technological advances of today's ventless appliances?Many designs are available with hand-held or wall-mounted remote controls for lighting the unit and selecting the heat output. Most designs offer thermostatically controlled models that automatically modulate to maintain the selected comfort level/heat output.
Some models offer a timer device which automatically starts the appliance before the family rises in the morning or returns home in the afternoon.
How many ventless products are in use today?More than 17 million U.S. households use ventless gas supplemental heating appliances. Ventless products are fueled by natural gas or propane and their precision-engineered burners provide highly efficient, environmentally clean-burning heat.
Aren't there limited sizes and shapes for ventless products?Ventless products come in every size, shape and color. Every year manufacturers introduce new colors and styles of ventless products. Selecting a ventless appliance is easy. It is recommended that you work with your local gas appliance or hearth retailer to find the best product to meet your needs.
How is a ventless appliance different than vented products?All vented gas and solid-fuel fireplaces lose some or most of their useable heat straight up the chimney or vent.
For example, vented gas logs installed in a wood burning fireplace typically burn 30,000 to 60,000 Btus/hour, and the fireplace damper must be totally open, resulting in most of the heat escaping up the chimney. Depending on the design chosen, a ventless gas log in the same fireplace would burn only 26,000 to 40,000 Btus/hour, and virtually all of the heat produced would be delivered into the living space. Therefore, the savings in fuel costs with a ventless gas log are tremendous, and the resulting comfort from the fireplace is dramatically increased versus a vented appliance or burning wood.
Can ventless products be used as a home's sole heating source?Ventless gas appliances should be used as supplemental zone heaters and not as a primary source of heat, except during a power outage.
Can ceiling fans be installed in rooms with ventless fireplaces?Ceiling fans may be used to help distribute the heat, however, fans should not be allowed to blow directly into the fireplace to avoid any drafts that alter burner flame patterns, which can result in sooting.
Do ventless products work when the power goes out?Yes. Most ventless appliances don't rely on electricity. They supply heat even when home power is lost due to severe weather or emergency situations.