How to Buy the Best Manufactured Gas Fireplace

Expert advice on buying the best manufactured gas fireplace, including direct-vent gas fireplaces, vent-free fireplaces, and more.

闪烁的火焰和发光的余烬：没有什么比在寒冷的冬天的日子里像火一样舒适。

Of course, for a fire, a house needs a fireplace that will safely contain it, encourage the fuel to burn, exhaust any smoke, and deliver warmth to the room.

传统的masonry fireplaceheats by radiation. Radiant heat from the fire warms objects in a room, not the air. As a result, the fireplace wall retains heat and releases it slowly into the room.

Unfortunately, most traditional masonry fireplaces are notoriously inefficient at heating. In fact, they may actually increase drafts in a house. This happens because they may draw room air through the mouth of the fireplace and send it, along with as much as 90 percent of the heat generated by the fire, up the chimney.

为了减少热量损失和涂抹，玻璃门密封一些现代壁炉的前线。此外，这些密封的壁炉直接从户外吸引燃烧空气，所以火不会偷走房间所需的空气。一些有效的型号也有管室空气过量的通风口，因此可以加热，然后将其返回到房间。此外，一些壁炉专门设计用于最大化辐射热输送和保留。

Direct-Vent Gas Fireplaces

Unlike traditional mortar-and-brick masonry fireplaces with foundations and chimneys, direct-vent manufactured gas-burning fireplaces take advantage of zero-clearance technology.

They are prefabricated from metal and designed to be installed in wood-frame construction without a foundation. A big difference between these and any other fireplace? They don’t have a conventional chimney. Direct-vent gas-burning manufactured fireplaces burn so efficiently that they can be vented directly out a wall. This means they’re much easier and less expensive to install than masonry units and you have much greater flexibility in their placement.

因为他们是燃气，这些单位涉及几十年前几个地区的危机比例的木烟污染的严重问题。与木材燃烧器不同，这些气体壁炉几乎没有颗粒物。

与所有燃气壁炉一样，直流气体壁炉比木材燃烧的单位更容易使用，因为您不必购买，运输，斩起，开始和持续饲料。你不必舀出灰烬或扫烟囱。有气体，您只需用旋钮，开关甚至遥控器打开火灾。或者你可以让恒温器完成这项工作。在使用时，燃气壁炉仅需每小时成本便宜。

Of course, all gas-burning manufactured fireplaces have人造壁炉日志, so the big question is: Does the fire look like a wood fire? The only way to set your mind to rest on this issue is to visit a couple of dealers and see the logs burning first-hand. You’re likely to discover that, although early gas fireplaces had phony-looking fires, new burners and artificial logs are surprisingly realistic. Many produce a very authentic fire with tall, dancing flames and have logs and embers that glow. And, to heighten the effect, you can even buyincense that imitates the aroma of a wood fire。

在为新的制造气体壁炉购物时，请确保它由符合您当地代码的组织进行实验室认证，例如美国天然气协会（AGA）。还要确保壁炉安装人员按照制造商的指示进行工作。如果您打算将其放入卧室，移动房屋或相对较高的海拔，请确保它已被批准用于该使用情况。

当然，直接通风口制造的燃气壁炉的价格差异，取决于尺寸，风格，饰面和其他选择。你会发现他们从大约450美元开始 - 一个小的价格来支付价值，舒适，享受新的壁炉将带来你的家人。

直接排气燃气壁炉的类型

Standard one-sided direct-vent gas fireplaces are the norm, but you can buy two-sided, three-sided (peninsula), and four-sided (island) styles, as well as bay-window shapes and corner units. Heat-N-Glo even makes a three-sided Pier Bar unit that can go at the end of a bar.

大小不同。你会发现约30到48英寸宽的单位，大约24到30英寸高。直流通风壁炉通常非常浅至13至18英寸深。

Nearly all manufacturers make both top- and rear-venting models. Top-venting types work well where the flue doesn’t have a straight shot out a wall.

Depending upon the model, vents may run vertically or horizontally for quite a distance—up to 25 feet or more.

气体壁炉热容量

与其他气体器具一样，燃气壁炉通过其“BTU” - 小时输入或输出能力来衡量，具体取决于制造商。一种Btu (British thermal unit)is equal to the amount of heat required to raise one pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit.

Input capacity refers to the amount of gas burned without taking into consideration the percentage of heat lost through the flue. Output capacity refers to the total usable heat generated. Most manufacturers use the input capacity figure because it’s always larger than the output.

如果您担心壁炉会产生多大的热量，则输出数字是重要的。如果您想知道它有效地使用其燃料，请通过将输出速率除以输入速率来稳定状态效率等级。

Input ratings vary, and some units have a range, depending upon the flame’s setting. If supplemental heat is important, choose a model with plenty of output. The Mendota DXV fireplace, for example, has a thermostatically controlled, variable two-level burner that can deliver from 25,000 to 40,000 Btus per hour with 75 percent efficiency.

Direct-Vent Fireplace Options

直接通风壁炉的控件和选项因下一个制造商而异。

With some models of direct-vent fireplaces, a standing safety pilot light burns continuously so it can light the main burner whenever gas goes on. Other models have electric spark ignition to save energy or a piezoelectric ignition, often chosen when there isn’t an electrical hookup at the fireplace. Some of these types use a millivolt generator so the fireplace can work even if the power goes out.

但如果飞行员没有点亮，主阀门不会打开。实际上，如果先导灯熄灭，Blaze King的Splited Second™安全系统将在一秒钟内关闭气体。

You can use a wall switch, a thermostat, or a remote control to operate many types of direct-vent systems. In addition, some remote controls have adjustable thermostats, blower-speed controls, and flame-height adjustments.

Other options for direct-vent fireplaces include variable-speed fans to boost circulation, special trim kits, propane gas conversion kits, decorative screens, firebrick-style fireboxes, and more.

Vent-Free Fireplaces

在该国的一些地区,规范允许使用of vent-free gas fireplaces. Vent-free or “no-vent” gas fireplaces, made by several manufacturers, have an oxygen-depletion sensor to shut off the gas if the oxygen level ever drops below a preset level. In addition, their burners produce only very low levels of carbon monoxide.

Because they recirculate all their heat into the room, no-vent gas fireplaces have very high efficiency ratings. On the downside, they have a much smaller and less realistic fire than other fireplaces. In addition, product directions usually require you to leave a window slightly open during use—noteworthy in the quest of making a room cozy.

Regardless of the type of fireplace you install, also install acombination smoke and carbon monoxide detectorto keep your family safe.

直接通风壁炉如何工作

直流壁炉燃烧天然气或丙烷，而不是木材。但直流式型号与传统的燃气壁炉不同，这需要一流的B级烟道来带走热燃烧气体。

直流通风壁炉有效地燃烧，从燃烧气体中提取大部分热量并将燃烧从内部房间密封。

一种direct-vent model has a glass door that is securely sealed to prevent leaks of combustion products into the room. Air to feed the flame enters from outside, and the relatively cool combustion gases are exhausted through the wall-mounted vent (if you prefer, you can also vent them through a roof).

Most of these units have passageways that direct room air around the firebox/heat exchanger and then return it to the room. Some come with fans to boost this circulation; with others, fans are an option.

These fireplaces garner efficiency ratings that approach those of gas-fired furnaces—in the 78 percent range. (This means they convert 78 percent of the fuel’s potential heat to usable heat.)

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