Gas Fireplace - To Vent Or Not

Hardibuilt

I have a customer on a custom home wanting to have a recessed area above the fireplace for a plasma tv. I am wondering if a vented fireplace or non vented would be better for this situation? In most cases vented fireplaces put off much more heat and I would initially consider non vented because the fireplace is only used for decoration. I live in a warm climate and heat is not the desired result. If going with a vented fireplace is there anyway to vent thru the ridge cap vs. going thru the roof. I have already had the house shingled when the whole plasma fireplace thing came up.

Hardibuilt

I thought that someone would have some input on this one.

woodmagman

Have a look at Dimplex Electric......I have done this in kitchen cabinets, basements and baths. No vent, look good and can be a heating of non-heating source.

concretemasonry

Check your codes - unvented gas may not be permitted (most states)

Resale with an unvented could also be a problem even if codes permit it.

Venting through a ridge cap is definitely not permitted.

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Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active domestically and internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

Tom M

Why not direct vent out the back. If exhaust is not close to windows or doors.

bill r

Personally, I enjoy breathing oxygen.

thom

I direct vent almost every fireplace. Obviously the FP must be on an outside wall for that to work. You can vent with the recess above the FP by blocking the back corner off and venting up there. Look at installation methods of Heat-N-Glo products on line.

logdoc

What state do you live in? There are only 3 or 4 states that you cannot install a vent-free gas fireplace. The vent-free ones do tend to put a lot of heat out and can cause problems if installed without a properly sized hood over it.

I direct vent unit may be your best bet. It is more expensive, but you will not have as many problems with heat issues with the TV.

benchmark2323

i put a ventless in a house i just built and its awesome as long as you dont keep it running for days. i have a carbon monoxide detector and it has yet to go off. the thing that is nice is that 100% of the heat is coming into your house, and not out a vent (like your furnace). i put it in a 1750 sq ft home and this winter i turned the furnace down and turned the fan on the furnace to circulate the heat. worked great. should not be used as your main heat source. its also not that hard to crack a window if you had to either. it looks good and heats the room very well. i was sold on it