How To Get More Heat From Gas Fireplace [10 Easy Methods]

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how to get more heat from gas fireplace

You’d naturally wonder how to get more heat from a gas fireplace if your current setup is providing enough heat to cover your entire room. There are many ways using which you can get more heat from your gas fireplace.

The main ways of getting more heat from your gas fireplace are getting a fireback, opening the dampers, ventilating the room, installing a heat exchanger, dialing up the thermostat settings, setting up ceramic glass doors, using vent-free gas logs, getting a fireplace heater, adding a fireplace insert, and choosing the right type of fireplace.

Keep reading this article to learn more about how you can implement each of these methods in detail and get more heat from your fireplace.

You’ll also learn how to maintain your fireplace, where you should place it, how gas fireplaces compare to electric fireplaces, and much more. Let’s begin!

Table Of Contents

How To Get More Heat From Gas Fireplace [10 Easy Methods]

Getting a new gas fireplace can be really expensive. Rather than getting a new fireplace, it’s a good idea to use some simple tools to get the maximum heat from your existing fireplace.

So, if you’re wondering how to get more heat from gas fireplace insert, you can follow these simple methods:

Note: You can also read how to fix the Gas Fireplace flame too low.

1. Get A Fireback For Gas Fireplace

A fireback is a slab of cast-iron metal that you can place behind your logs. It’s a great tool that reflects heat back to your room that you would have otherwise lost. It’ll keep absorbing the heat as the fire burns and disperse it to the room.

It’s a simple tool you can install immediately to get more heat from your fireplace that would have gone out through the chimney.

It can be used in both wooden or gas fireplaces. So, a fireback may be the answer for you if you’ve been thinking about how to get more heat from a vented gas fireplace.

2. Fully Open The Dampers

One conflicting piece of advice you’ll get when you’re learning about how to get more heat from the fireplace is whether you should keep the damper open or closed. Many people will advise you to keep the damper closed so that you don’t lose out on any heat.

At first glance, that makes a lot of sense and it seems like good advice. The argument is that heat won’t be able to escape to the chimney and that’ll give off more heat to your room. But that’s not the whole picture.

Keeping the damper fully open will make sure that maximum air draws up the chimney and it’ll enhance the rate of airflow to the fire. The wood will burn hotter and faster when the damper is open because of the increased airflow.

That’ll increase the overall heat in your room. It’s also a good idea to keep it open because it’ll get rid of the harmful gases through the chimney and not in your room. These dampers are usually located on the top or the bottom of the chimney. They act as a lid that you can open or close at your will.

We strongly suggest that you keep it open when you’re burning the wood for the many reasons that have been mentioned. However, it’s good to keep it closed when the gas fireplace is not in use.

There’s no need to worry if your gas fireplace isn’t equipped with a damper. That means it’ll be open anyways which is what you want.

But the upside to having is that you’ll be able to control the airflow by partially opening or closing it so that your room stays at the desired temperature.

3. Ventilate The Room

Good air circulation is absolutely necessary if you want the heat to spread to all parts of the room. If you want to know how how to get more heat from your gas fireplace, you should make sure your room is well-ventilated.

There are many tools that you can use to make your room have good air circulation. Here are the common ones used for gas fireplaces:

i). A Fireplace Blower

It’s a device that’ll make sure that the heat generated by your gas fireplace travels through a certain route.

The surrounding air gets hot as the hot air comes into contact with it because of the blower. That makes the heat travel quicker to the entire room.

ii). Chimney Fans

If you’re frustrated because the heat produced by your fireplace goes elsewhere instead of your room, chimney fans can be a great solution. They’re built to increase the fireplace draft as they pull the air up and out of the chimney.

It results in the fire burning more quickly and becoming hotter in a shorter period. So, chimney fans can be the ideal tool for you if you wanted to find a way how to get more heat from a fireplace.

iii). Room To Room Fans

These fans are great to transfer heated air from your fireplace to your desired room. All you need to do to use it is to mount it on a doorway and turn it on.

If you have the need for it, you can set up multiple fans and create a heat transfer network.

4. Install A Heat Exchanger

If you’re still wondering how to get more heat from a gas fireplace, the next thing you should look into is a heat exchanger.

It’s a device that you can place at the back of the fireplace and capture the heat. It circulates the hot air to your room and increases the efficiency of your gas fireplace.

You can find them in both automatic and manual models. You can control the automatic ones with a thermostat and they’ll turn on and off automatically to match your desired temperature.

The combination of a fireplace blower and heat exchanger will do a great job of keeping your room warm.

5. Set The Thermostat In Maximum Value

It’s a rookie mistake but one that you may have just overlooked and put your thermostat in a low setting. If you want to get the most heat from your gas fireplace, you’ll have to set the thermostat to the highest possible value.

It’s an easy way to get more heat from your fireplace if you were not feeling heat from gas fireplace.

One word of warning is that you should use the highest settings only when necessary as putting it in the highest settings will make it work more and increase your bills.

6. Set Up Ceramic Glass Doors

The glass doors in your fireplace work with the dampers to retain the maximum heat possible. You can close both of them when the fireplace is not burning to retain the heat and create a barrier to heat loss.

Just like the dampers, you shouldn’t close them when you’re burning the fireplace. You should keep them closed after the fireplace is done burning and has generated a good amount of heat.

Naturally, you may think about which material is perfect for your fireplace doors? The answer is ceramic glass.

The glass doors you’re currently using are most likely made with tempered glass. They don’t do a great job at retaining heat and aren’t durable either.

Ceramic glass is comparatively much more efficient than tempered glass in transmitting heat throughout the room.

It’ll last for a long time. You won’t have to compromise on the aesthetics either as these doors are clear and you can see your gas fireplace burning through them.

7. Use Vent-Free Gas Logs

Another way if you’re thinking about how to get more heat from my gas fireplace is to use vent-free gas logs. The cool thing about them is that they’ll provide a good amount of heat by circulating the air inside the room rather than drawing air from outside.

They come with an oxygen depletion sensor to make sure that the level of oxygen in your room always remains above a safe level. These are the perfect tools if you’re looking to improve the heating efficiency in your house.

However, there is a clear disadvantage to using them. Using vent-free gas logs can build up a lot of moisture in the air and you may see condensation building up on the windows because of it.

To get around it, open a window slightly to let in a little bit of fresh air. They aren’t compatible with all fireboxes. So, refer to your owner’s manual to find out if you can use them for yours.

Check the state laws of your local government to make sure that it’s legal to use it first. These logs should always be installed by a professional.

They should never be installed in a closed space. With all that said, you’ll get more use from your fireplace if you use vent-free gas logs.

8. Consider Getting A Fireplace Heater

Investing in a good fireplace heater will no longer leave you wondering how to get more heat from the outdoor gas fireplace. It’ll help significantly in increasing the efficiency of the fireplace in your house.

Your fireplace will have more time to heat the air it draws by circulating it through certain pipes or tubes. Then, the air is blown into the room so that the room can become quickly heated.

If you install a fireplace heater and you can smell smoke coming from your fireplace, that means it hasn’t been properly installed.

You need to have it reinstalled in that case. You’d also most likely have to replace your glass doors because a fireplace heater only works with certain glass doors.

9. Get A Fireplace Insert

Another great option to increase the heating efficiency of your fireplace is to use a fireplace insert. It replaces the firebox in your existing masonry fireplace.

If you’re thinking of using vent-free logs but want your fireplace to look cool, you can opt for a ventless fireplace insert.

But the perfect option to get the most heating efficiency is to go for the direct vent inserts. They operate using a sealed system and eliminate the possibility of heat loss.

They bring in air fresh air from outside for combustion while exhausting the byproducts outside your home.

They have a great aesthetic with realistic flames. You should consider direct vent fireplace inserts if you want the maximum heating efficiency from your fireplace.

10. Choose The Right Type Of Fireplace

All the efforts spent on the tips shared above will go in vain if you don’t get the right kind of fireplace for your house.

If you don’t want to think about how to get more heat out of gas fireplace and always be happy with the heat you’re getting, the first thing to do is to choose the right fireplace. The most popular choices of fireplaces are:

  • Direct vented fireplaces
  • Natural draft fireplaces.

i). Direct Vented Fireplace

In this type of fireplace, the combustion gases have a specified exhaust system. They are ideal for maximizing heating efficiency as very little heat loss occurs when you use them.

Cold air from outside the room that gets in through the doors and windows won’t be able to enter your fireplace when you use a direct-vented fireplace. That’s why it is a great fireplace for heating your room.

ii). Natural Draft Fireplace

Unlike the direct vented fireplace, the natural draft fireplace doesn’t have a dedicated exhaust system. They use the air circulation in your room to burn the combustion gases.

So, the cold air in the room will enter the fireplace and reduce its heating efficiency. This is the main reason why natural draft fireplaces aren’t a good choice if you want the most heating efficiency from your fireplace.

How To Maintain Your Gas Fireplace

The proper maintenance of your gas fireplace is essential if you want to get the most heat coming out of it. Follow these maintenance tips to increase their efficiency and longevity:

i). Maintain The Fireplace Blower

A fireplace blower enhances the efficiency of the fireplace. But if you don’t clean it for months at a time, dirt and debris will build up in it. That’ll make it clogged and it won’t be able to do its job properly.

So, you should clean it at regular intervals so that your gas fireplace doesn’t lose its efficiency. A good reference point you can start at is to inspect it every four months and clean it if dirt has built up.

ii). Clean The Fireplace

Though a gas fireplace works differently from other common heating appliances, they still tend to get dirty.

The accumulation of dirt and debris can cause problems with your fireplace just like it can with the blower. So, clean your fireplace every couple of weeks to prevent that from happening.

iii). Clean The Glass Doors

When it comes to a gas fireplace, most of the maintenance work involves a cleaning to prevent the build-up of dirt. Most of the fireplace doors can be removed so that you can easily clean them.

Take off these glass doors from the fireplace when they need a cleaning and place them on top of a newspaper. The surrounding furniture won’t get dirty if you do that.

Spray a little water and wipe it with a cloth. Dry the glass and wait for at least half an hour before you put them back on the fireplace.

Are Gas Fireplaces Supposed To Heat The Entire Room

Whether your gas fireplace should be capable of heating the entire room or not depends on the type of gas fireplace you use.

The average gas fireplace should be efficient and capable enough to heat up your entire room. But there are decorative gas logs that aren’t as effective in producing heat.

The gas log sets use the chimney for ventilation and they’ll warm you up if you sit close to them. But these appliances aren’t ideal to disperse the heat to the other areas of the room.

So, you won’t be feeling any heat coming from them if you’re sitting in another corner of the room.

But the gas inserts and fireplaces are much more efficient at dispersing heat throughout the room compared to gas log sets. The heat produced by such gas fireplaces will end up in your room and not in the chimney.

Regardless of which gas fireplace you use, each of them comes with a BTU rating that shows the highest amount of heat it can produce.

You need to know how much BTU is required to heat your room and see if your gas fireplace matches it.

There are many BTU calculators online that’ll help you figure out how much BTU is required to heat your room.

On average, room sizes are somewhere between 250-500 square feet for middle-class homes. Even small gas fireplaces are normally capable of handling that.

However, the conditions at your home also drastically affect the BTU required for your room. If your room isn’t well insulated, the gas insert will have to work extra hard to keep the room warm.

The layout of your home and the location of the doors and windows will also determine how well the air is circulated in your room.

You should go for a gas insert with a higher BTU rating if you think that these factors will make it harder to keep your room warm.

Should You Use Gas Fireplace As A Primary Heat Source

If you leave a gas fireplace, the other viable options to use as a primary heat source for a house are central heating or a furnace. Gas fireplaces are much more economical compared to these options and they can be used as a primary heat source.

The correct way to use gas fireplaces is to use them as zone heating sources. It means that they would heat up only a few small areas that are frequently used and leave out the areas which aren’t commonly used.

Using a fireplace as a central heating unit doesn’t make any sense as it would have to travel over long distances to keep the house warm. But using it as a zone heating source is not only practical but it’ll also keep your bills down.

Of course, gas log sets will not be a good option to use as a primary heat source and we’re only talking about gas fireplaces for this purpose. Unvented gas fireplaces are very effective in heating the room.

But using them continuously can be harmful as they allow combustible materials to enter the room. It encourages mold growth by raising the level of water vapor and also forms carbon monoxide and dioxide that can be poisonous when consumed in large amounts.

You shouldn’t use them as a primary heat source for more than two hours. If you use a vented gas fireplace, you’ll be losing out on the efficiency but it’s a much safer option. It’ll send the vapor outside and you can run them for as long as you want. 

You can turn them on and off just like you would with any central heating system. Using gas fireplaces is an inexpensive and efficient way to keep your house warm against cold weather.

How Much Heat Does A Gas Fireplace Produce

It’s time to talk numbers in terms of BTU so that you can make a good guess what type of gas furnace is a good choice for your room. Gas fireplaces can produce anywhere from 10,000 to 60,000 BTUs depending on the size of the fireplace you’re using.

Here’s a quick rundown you can use as a quick guide to get an idea of how much BTUs of heat you can expect from your fireplace:

  • Small Gas Fireplace – 10,000- 20,000 BTUs.
  • Medium Gas Fireplace – 25,000 – 40,000 BTUs.
  • Large Gas Fireplace – 45,000 – 60,000 BTUs.

Why Your Gas Fireplace Won’t Heat Your Room

When it comes to gas fireplaces, there’s no doubt that BTUs are the most important measuring unit to gauge how much heat the unit will give off.

But there are some other factors that you should look into if you’re not happy with the gas fireplace heat output you’re getting.

However, here are the most common reasons why your gas fireplace fails to keep your room heated:

  • The gas fireplace you’re using isn’t suitable for that particular area.
  • Poor air circulation in your room.
  • Low settings on the thermostat.
  • Fire keeps going out because of a clogged thermocouple.
  • Your fireplace hasn’t been properly insulated.

What Should The Location Of Your Fireplace Be

The location of the fireplace in your home will have a huge impact on how fast your room gets heated. If it is located in the corner of a room, it’ll take a long time to heat the other corner.

It’s important that the location of your fireplace be close to the area where you want the maximum heat.

Take the dimensions of your room and figure out which area works well for the fireplace. It’s a good idea to keep them away from windows as the heat can go out through them.

What To Choose Between A Gas And Electric Fireplace

Whether a gas or eclectic fireplace is the right choice for you depends on your personal preference. The main difference between them is that gas fireplaces use fuel as their source of energy and electric fireplaces use electricity.

If you prefer getting more heat from your fireplace, a gas fireplace is the better choice for you.

It’ll also give you a more realistic effect when you’re burning it because of the realistic flickering cut. You’d also be able to enjoy it at all times even if you have power cuts and there’s no electricity.

Conversely, if you don’t care much for maximum heat output and prefer energy savings, you can opt for an electric fireplace. The average electric fireplace is generally 50% more energy efficient compared to the gas fireplace.

FAQs:

What area will a 20,000 BTU gas fireplace cover?

Generally, a 20,000 BTU gas fireplace will cover an area close to 1000 square feet. It can be more or less depending on the insulation properties and air circulation in your home.

What to do if the gas fireplace makes room too hot?

If the gas fireplace has made the room too hot, you can turn it off. You can also adjust the damper and open it to get rid of some of the heat or change the settings on the thermostat.

How to prepare your room to get the most from your fireplace?

If there are no issues with your fireplace, doing simple things like closing the doors and windows in your room and using the ceiling fan in reverse will help you in getting more heat from it.

How long can you run a gas fireplace?

You can run a gas fireplace as long as you have the supply of fuel but it’s a good idea to not keep it running for more than two to three hours at a time.

Why has my fireplace stopped giving heat like before?

The common reason behind it is that the fireplace or fireplace blower has gotten dirty. Also, make sure to check the insulation around the door so that you can get maximum fireplace efficiency.

How to get more heat from a natural draft fireplace?

The combustion gases in a natural draft fireplace rely on the circulation air for ventilation. You can increase the heat coming from it by increasing its ventilation using a chimney liner.

Can you add a thermostat to a gas fireplace?

You can add a thermostat in most gas fireplaces and mount them on the wall close to the fireplace. It’ll be much easier to control the temperature of the fireplace using a thermostat.

Should you turn on the ceiling fan when using the gas fireplace?

Using ceiling fans when using the gas fireplace may seem counterintuitive. But if you turn it on in a clockwise direction, it’ll distribute the heat in the room much better and quickly make the room hot.

Conclusion

It’s frustrating to see your gas fireplace not working to its full potential on a cold day. But now you know about all the methods of how to get more heat from gas fireplace and keep your room warmed up. 

Use the method that seems easiest for you to use without going through a lot of trouble.

We hope following this guide will help you solve your problem and stay cozy and warm in your room. Drop a comment below if you have any more questions about increasing heat efficiency on gas fireplaces.

About David

David is a man who loves doing research and finding out the best solution to any type of heating appliance issues like heaters and fireplaces. Whenever he finds the perfect solutions to any issues of heating appliances after doing in-depth research, he loves to share them with his readers. In fact, his aim is to help his readers to fix the issues with their heating appliances easily.More about us .

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