Chimney Academy · Homeowner decisions

Wood, Gas or Electric Fireplace?

The three kinds of fireplace answer different wishes. Wood gives a real fire and can heat a room if it burns in a stove or insert. Gas gives a flame at the push of a button. Electric gives the look with no combustion at all. The right one depends on what you want the fire to do and what your house already has.

6 minute readUpdated October 2026

Gas Log and Gas Fireplace Installation

On this page

Start with what the fire is for
What each one needs from your house
The heat you actually get
When the power goes out
Smoke, fumes and the air inside
Living with it year after year
What happens to the chimney you already have
Putting it together
Questions homeowners ask
Sources

The short answer

Choose wood if you want a real fire and are willing to handle firewood, ashes and regular sweeping; for meaningful heat, burn it in a stove or insert, since EPA says open fireplaces lose over 90 percent of their heat up the chimney. Choose gas if you want an easy flame and have, or can get, a gas line; a direct-vent insert or fireplace gives real heat, while gas logs are mostly for looks. Choose electric for the look and a small amount of plug-in heat with no venting, keeping in mind that any existing chimney still needs care. Each one has its own needs from the house, its own upkeep and its own behavior in a power outage.

Start with what the fire is for

Before comparing fuels, decide which of these you want most. The answer narrows the field quickly.

Atmosphere a few evenings a year. Any of the three can do this. An open wood fireplace, gas logs or an electric unit all give a flame to look at.
Real heat for the room you live in. That points to a closed appliance: a wood stove or insert, or a direct-vent gas insert or fireplace. EPA estimates that a typical open fireplace sends more than nine-tenths of its heat up the flue, and it describes decorative gas or electric logs as not meant to be a major heat source.
The least work possible. Electric first, then gas. Wood involves the most handling by far.

If you already have a wood fireplace and are thinking of switching, our guides to converting a wood fireplace to gas and gas logs vs. gas inserts go into the gas options in detail. This guide stays at the level of the three fuels.

What each one needs from your house

	Wood	Gas	Electric
Exhaust	A sound chimney, or a liner sized and listed for the stove or insert	A vent the appliance is listed for: direct-vent pipes, a gas vent or a lined chimney	None; there is no combustion
Supply	Dry firewood and a place to store it	A gas line with a shutoff at the fireplace, natural gas or propane	A wall receptacle, often on a dedicated circuit
Floor and walls	Hearth protection and clearances from the manual	Clearances and any hearth from the manual	Mounting and clearances from the manual
Yearly professional attention	Inspection, sweeping as needed	Appliance service and vent check	Manufacturer's recommended inspection

Two details are easy to miss. For gas, the line has to reach the fireplace before any appliance can go in. We hook up gas logs, gas fireplaces and gas inserts only where a line is already in place; a missing line is a job for a plumber or the gas utility before we get involved. For electric, the outlet matters more than people expect. Dimplex's manual for one of its built-in electric fireplace lines recommends a dedicated, properly fused 15-amp circuit for the 120-volt models and says the heater is not intended for use with an extension cord.

The heat you actually get

Fireplaces of all three kinds are sold on looks. Their heat output varies far more than their appearance does.

Wood, open fireplace: little useful heat, for the reason EPA gives above. EPA adds that much of the heated air in the room goes up the chimney with it.
Wood, stove or insert: real heating appliances. DOE's figures for new equipment are up to 83 percent efficiency for catalytic models and 65 to 75 percent for many advanced non-catalytic ones, and gives a rule of thumb that a stove rated at 60,000 Btu can heat a 2,000-square-foot home.
Gas: wide range. Natural Resources Canada's guide to gas fireplaces reports that some units operated in the 30 percent efficiency range while better units ranged from 50 to 70 percent, so the rating of the specific model matters. Vented gas logs in an open fireplace behave much like an open wood fire.
Electric: a built-in heater, usually modest. The Dimplex units mentioned above produce 1,500 watts at 120 volts, which works out to about 5,100 Btu per hour.

When the power goes out

For some households, a fireplace is part of the plan for winter storms. The three behave very differently.

Wood needs no electricity to burn. A stove or insert with a blower will lose the fan, so heat moves into the room more slowly, but the fire keeps going.
Gas depends on the ignition and controls. Some appliances can be lit and run without house power and some cannot, or only with a battery backup. The manual will say. If outage heat matters to you, ask about it before you choose a model.
Electric stops when the power stops.

Whatever you use during an outage, never run a generator, grill or camp heater indoors, and make sure your carbon monoxide alarms have working batteries. See carbon monoxide alarms: placement and testing.

Smoke, fumes and the air inside

Combustion appliances put something into the air, and where it goes matters.

Wood makes smoke. EPA states that even the cleanest-burning wood heating device emits significantly more particle pollution than gas stoves, heat pumps or decorative gas or electric logs. A tight, well-run stove keeps the smoke in the chimney; an open fireplace that spills, or a stove door opened at the wrong moment, puts some in the room.

Vented gas appliances send their combustion products outdoors. EPA describes gas stoves as emitting very little pollution. It specifically cautions against unvented gas stoves and logs because of indoor air quality concerns.

Electric fireplaces burn nothing, so there are no combustion products at all.

Any home with a fuel-burning appliance, wood or gas, should have working carbon monoxide alarms. If one sounds, get everyone outside and call 911. Our guide to carbon monoxide and your chimney explains the link.

Living with it year after year

Wood asks the most. You buy or cut, split, season and store firewood, carry ashes out after cooling, and book a yearly chimney inspection, with a sweep whenever the deposits call for one. In return you get a fire that works without power or a gas bill.

Gas asks for an annual service and a check of the vent or chimney. CSIA notes that gas is generally a clean-burning fuel, but a chimney serving a gas appliance can still be blocked by nests and debris. A standing pilot also uses gas whether or not the fire is on; Natural Resources Canada puts a continuously burning pilot at 600 to 1,500 Btu per hour. Electronic ignition avoids that.

Electric asks for little. The Dimplex manual says the unit should not be operated with dust or dirt built up in it and should be inspected regularly, at a minimum once a year.

What happens to the chimney you already have

If your house has a wood-burning fireplace and you choose gas or electric, the chimney does not disappear from the roof.

Going to gas usually turns the chimney into the vent path: vented logs use the existing flue, and inserts run their vent pipes up through it. The chimney still needs a sweep before the change and regular checks after.
Going to electric leaves the chimney with no job. It still faces rain and freeze-thaw on top, and an open flue still exchanges air with the house and invites animals. It needs the same protection as any fireplace you no longer use. See caring for a fireplace you never use, and if the chimney will never be used again, should you remove an unused chimney?
Other flues in the same chimney, such as a furnace or water heater flue, keep working whatever you do with the fireplace and must never be blocked.

Putting it together

Do you want to heat with it?If yes, the choice is between a wood stove or insert and a direct-vent gas appliance. Electric units and open fireplaces are supplemental at most.
What does the house have?A sound chimney favors wood or vented gas. A gas line at the fireplace makes gas simpler. No chimney and no gas leaves electric, or a gas appliance that vents through a wall where the manual allows it.
How much work will you do?Be honest about firewood and ashes over ten winters, not one.
What do you need in an outage?Wood is the only one that does not depend on anything outside the house.
Check local rules.Ask your local construction office before you buy. Gas piping and appliance installation may need permits, and codes can restrict vent-free gas appliances.

If you already have a fireplace, start by finding out what condition it is in. An assessment of the fireplace and chimney, with findings and photos, tells you which options are realistic before you shop. See chimney inspection and gas log and gas fireplace installation.

Questions homeowners ask

Is an electric fireplace cheaper to run than gas?

It depends on local electricity and gas rates, how much heat you use and the efficiency of the gas unit. Compare the electric unit's wattage with the gas unit's input and efficiency rating, and look at your own utility bills for the rates.

Can I put an electric insert into my wood fireplace?

Some electric units are made to sit in a fireplace opening, but check that the specific model's instructions allow it. The chimney above still needs protecting from water and animals, and the flue should not be left open to the house.

Does a gas fireplace need a chimney?

It needs a vent of the type the appliance is listed for. That can be an existing chimney with or without a liner, direct-vent pipes through a wall or roof, or another listed system. Vent-free units are the exception and face code and room-size limits.

Which option is best for resale?

There is no single answer. What matters most to buyers and their inspectors is that whatever is there works, has records and passes inspection. A chimney in poor condition is a concern regardless of the fuel.

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Sources

This guide is general information. It can't diagnose a specific chimney; an inspection can.

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