Because burning wood releases about 75 percent more CO₂ than natural gas, efficient gas furnaces or fireplace inserts will emit only around half to two-thirds as much CO₂ per unit of heat as the best wood stoves, while natural gas emits far less toxic material than even the cleanest wood stoves.
A wood-burning fireplace emits up to 4,000% more emissions than a propane-fueled fireplace! These high emissions from wood-burning units have led to important changes.
Pellet and bioethanol fireplaces are great eco-friendly options. They are highly efficient, use fuel from sustainable sources, and bioethanol fireplaces in particular don't generate any emissions. High-efficiency wood fireplaces are also a good option, particularly if you use wood from sustainable sources.
While burning wood is sometimes considered a "green" source of heat, when it comes to carbon emissions and occupant health, natural gas or propane is usually a better choice.
In the battle for most efficient fireplace, gas fireplace efficiency is always going to win over wood fireplace efficiency. That's because gas fireplaces burn more cleanly and produce fewer polluting emissions.
Gas logs are a much safer heating and aesthetic alternative to a real fire, especially if you have pets, kids, or limited space. Real logs run the danger of producing flying sparks and creosote buildup in the chimney itself, but gas logs produce a tame flame and put less matter into the air when burned.
A standard 20,000 BTU gas fireplace will use about 20 cubic feet of natural gas per hour. Given that price of natural gas is about $1.09 per 100 cubic feet, running a standard-sized gas fireplace will cost about $0.22/hour at 100% heating output. In short: Gas fireplaces are quite inexpensive to run.
In terms of electricity generation, smokestack emissions from combusting wood can be more than three times higher than those of natural gas, and 1.5 times those of coal per MWh.
If done correctly, wood burning can actually become a part of a carbon neutral process, whereby the carbon released from burning wood is balanced out by the carbon absorbed by the tree during its lifetime. Unlike non-renewable fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, this does offer a sustainable energy process.
If you breath in carbon monoxide fumes, it reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood, which over time can cause your organs and cells to die – this is carbon monoxide poisoning. It is an odourless, colourless and tasteless gas, which is why it's potentially so hazardous,.
Less smoke being produced by a fireplace means there is going to be less pollution. Less pollution is better for your indoor air quality, as well as the outdoor air quality.
One successful way to reduce your carbon footprint is by using an energy-efficient home heating source. One that doesn't rely heavily on natural resources, and won't produce greenhouse-gas emissions. Electric fireplaces are the greener alternative to gas and wood-burning fireplaces these days.
Smokeless fuel is a much safer alternative to smoke-producing fuel, particularly wet wood. Wood-burning open fires and stoves produce a range of toxic gases and particulate matter (PM) that can increase a person's risk of developing heart and lung diseases.
In fact, gas is the cheapest form of energy, so choosing a high efficiency gas fire will reduce heating bills and running costs, as well as heating up the entire room. When comparing this with burning wood as a choice of energy supply, gas is over 90% cheaper.
For all practical purposes the two fuels cost the same. Also keep in mind that wood burning pollutes much more than natural gas and requires far more work, namely hauling and stacking the wood, stoking and tending the fire, periodically cleaning the chimney to avoid creosote buildup, and cleaning out the ashes.
There is a belief that wood burning doesn't contribute to climate change. But this simply isn't true. Living trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air as part of the photosynthetic process and store the carbon as cellulose and other carbon-containing carbohydrates.
A gas fireplace offers a range of benefits over burning wood in your home, including the ability to instantly turn on, control and turn of the heat from the fire. The advantages of having gas fireplace can outweigh the disadvantages in many scenarios, making a gas fireplace a worthwhile investment for your home.
In short, you really shouldn't let a gas fireplace on for too long—specifically more than three hours at a time.
Gas Logs are normally installed inside an open masonry fireplace. They may radiate heat in front of the fireplace, but they will not be able to heat an entire home.
Based on the currently available models, gas log sets burn anywhere from 60,000 – 90,000 BTUs of gas per hour. On the other hand, the more efficient gas fireplaces use 10,000 – 70,000 BTUs/hour. In comparison, the average furnace requires around double the amount of gas.
Compared with some other fossil fuels, natural gas emits the least amount of carbon dioxide into the air when combusted -- making natural gas the cleanest burning fossil fuel of all.
Natural gas is the most eco-friendly fossil fuel. It is also gaining popularity because its price is a big advantage. Natural gas is a bridge from hard coal and oil to renewable, clean energy.
In terms of emissions from combustion, natural gas, composed mainly of methane (CH4), is the least polluting of the fossil fuels. Per unit of energy produced, CO2 emissions from natural gas are 45.7% lower than those from coal (lignite), 27.5% lower than from diesel, and 25.6% lower than from gasoline.
Wood smoke is also bad for the outdoors environment, contributing to smog, acid rain and other problems. One greener alternative to burning firewood in a fireplace is to burn wood pellets, which are made from sawdust and other lumber byproducts that would have otherwise been landfilled and gone to waste.
Fireplaces, as well as woodstoves and gas stoves, are all sources or indoor air pollutants. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has found that wood smoke is particularly dangerous, and may release carcinogens and contaminants in your air than can cause breathing problems.