Boiler versus flame effect gas fire..

tanith

I have gas central heating and also a flame effect gas fire in the living room. It doesn't seem to throw out a lot of heat but its enough to heat the living room at this time of year. OH and I have this argument every year he says having the fire on uses more gas (as its burning all the time its on as opposed to the boiler which clicks on and off) than having on the heating which heats the whole house. We've actually stopped using the fire because it causes this argument but I like the fire on.

Anyone tell me if he's right please?

bob_a_builder

Basically yes,

And as well as burning all the time, the actual efficiency of those things is very low compared to the boiler - so only a little heat out for a lot of gas in

edit: Re the efficiency - i was thinking of the real flame type of thing but now see you say 'effect' so may not apply

tanith

Sorry there is actually real flame from gas which I light but the actual blocks in the grate are for effect and don't burn.

I guess I'm going to have to agree with him , what a shame I do like the fire lit occasionally as all my neighbours seem to have their fires going and the heating they must be rich!! lol seems a bit pointless having the fire now.

jhe

tanith wrote: »

I have gas central heating and also a flame effect gas fire in the living room. It doesn't seem to throw out a lot of heat but its enough to heat the living room at this time of year. OH and I have this argument every year he says having the fire on uses more gas (as its burning all the time its on as opposed to the boiler which clicks on and off) than having on the heating which heats the whole house. We've actually stopped using the fire because it causes this argument but I like the fire on.

Anyone tell me if he's right please?

you could find out easily by reading your meter with the fire only on one day. then next day run heating only and read meter.
in my own case i use less gas by running my flame fire which is quite high powered on low setting than running heating on low setting

rustyboy21

Not all gas fires are the same. Some are only 25% efficient. Some of the newer fires come out at 90% efficient.

It depends on what you want for your house. If you want the whole house warm, then CH is the only way. It uses more gas than the fire, but as it will go on and off, it may work out the same , in terms of gas usage.

It is not realistic to compare a single gas fire, to a whole CH system. If we knew which make and model you had, we could give a better opinion.

tanith

I might try reading the meter and see how that works out.. if I knew which make and model the fire was I'd say but its a very simple gas pipe under a grate with fake logs on top but it looks very real when its alight but there is no make or model on it anywhere. Of course in the depths of Winter we have the heating on but it seems bonkers to have the gas fire and the boiler on together when we are trying hard to keep our bills down. So as I say it does seem a bit pointless having the fire.

rustyboy21

That fire would be over 20 years old, if not more now, surprised it is still going !

I would suggest getting it taken out and either replaced, or put something else in it's place TBH, I would watch out using it.

There is not much really that could go wrong with it, as there isn't many parts to it, but have you had it checked lately for spilling fumes and draw of the flue.

In this case ( and it breaks my heart, as I sell fires ! ), I agree with your OH and just use the CH until it is checked out. Most likely it will be condemmed by the Gasafe engineer as it won't have any safety features on it.

Alan2020

Most fires are not going to be more than 50% efficient while a condensing boiler is around 98% efficient. Gas fires should belong in a tip, just get an electric fire display for your TV, makes you feel warm, its all in the mind ;-)

Before people start telling me off, at my former work people kept cranking the temperature to 26 on the thermostat instead of leaving it at 21. So we just for a laugh removed the knob and fitted it to read 26 at 21, and guess what the cold people felt warm :-D

rustyboy21

Alan2020 wrote: »

Most fires are not going to be more than 50% efficient while a condensing boiler is around 98% efficient. Gas fires should belong in a tip, just get an electric fire display for your TV, makes you feel warm, its all in the mind ;-)

Before people start telling me off, at my former work people kept cranking the temperature to 26 on the thermostat instead of leaving it at 21. So we just for a laugh removed the knob and fitted it to read 26 at 21, and guess what the cold people felt warm :-D

Just to correct you, a lot of newer fires are round the 90% mark.

A fire should not be relied on for a whole source of heating, they are meant to be a supplement to other heating. I would always advise a user to use as a back up. A gas fire is always cheaper to run than an electric fire when they are used for the purpose of heating a room.

Alan2020

rustyboy21 wrote: »

Just to correct you, a lot of newer fires are round the 90% mark.

Wow, can you recommend some, I have this oldish one, say 5 years old or so in my living room, balanced flue, could do with a change I guess. I inherited it with the house and don't really use it due to its inefficiency. I did look for some quotes. If you have any pointers very much appreciated

rustyboy21

Hi Alan.

The problem you have is that you need a balanced flue fire. A normal fire won't do. A balanced flue inset fire will only be taking in a small amount of gas and giving out approx 2.5kw heat, they are efficient as they are room sealed, but this makes it harder to give more heat , as the design of the fire restricts bigger outputs.

Just checking, you say you have a balanced flue fire, it is glass fronted isn't it. If it is open fronted, you have a fan or power flue fire, if this is the case, no wonder you are suffering ! They are worse than useless.

You can get hotter balanced flues, but apart from the attached one, you will be spending a hell of a lot ( say round £2-4k ) for something which can give up to 7kw heat.

The one in the link below, is a good one, it looks old fashioned and ugly, but at least it is hot. ones like Drugasar, faber,bellbarbas etc are great but very dear.

http://www.valor.co.uk/product_details/0547301.htm?ref=/catalogue/gas_collection/no_chimney/index.htm