Gas or electric fire???

[dontcallmeduck]

We’re in the process of choosing a fire. Currently there’s a chimney breast that has been boarded with a chimney and gas supply. I’m just not sure what fuel to go for. I’m always cold and it’s a big room so a gas will be more efficient at heating it. An electric however is about 1/2 the initial cost and we can have it on ‘just for effect’ but then it does have that fan noise when on!

I’m just unsure so what would you go for and why please?

has the room got any radiators?

The room has 3 radiators but it is large, used to be 3 rooms but has all been knocked through. The problem is there are no thermostats on any radiator so if we put the heating on then the whole house gets heated.

We have a wood burner as our primary heat source, DH found a gas fire at the dump. He is going to install that in the living room as a backup as it will still work during a power cut

It might be a better idea to fit TRVs on the radiators before going to a new fire.

CH heating is much more economical and energy efficient and can make your home more comfortable.

Energy from electricity costs about four times as much as energy from gas.

A good TRV costs around £15 but it may be worth changing the lockshield at the same time. A plumber can change your whole house in a day or so. You would probably drain the whole system if doing more than one valve in a day.

We’re going to get those done when we replace the boiler, probably next year. We really miss having a fire though, it just doesn’t feel homely to me without one.

Electric is very expensive to run. I'd go with gas as I like the effect.

Personally, gas. We can light ours with a lighter/match if necessary. Our village has quite a lot of power cuts & we have a combi boiler so having the gas fire means we can heat the living room at least when they happen in Winter.