These preserve valuable floor space, will comfortably heat a small living room and come in a variety of beguiling forms – a fire ribbon row of flames, a fire bowl or fire basket with pebbles. Meanwhile, fans of sleek and minimal design will melt away at the sight of a hole in the wall gas fire. That said, the gold standard of sustainable heating and performance is the bioethanol fireplace – smoke-free, odourless and not a speck of ash to be seen. You will also have much better control of the temperature. But if efficiency, lower energy bills and fuss-free heating are more important, a gas fire scores highly, particularly the flueless gas fire variety, which draws waste gases out through a duct. Compact freestanding stoves, either multi-fuel, gas, oil or electric, have become very popular in recent years as homeowners try to rekindle the open-fire romance of yesteryear. First thing’s first though: check with your authority to see if you live in a Smoke Control Area – fireplace installation specialists may also know this. You’ll be clearing away ash on a regular basis. Ventilation is also an important consideration, as is practicality. Combined with a marble or stone fire surround, the latter will add a rarified sense of grandeur to any dining room or lounge, but it does take a while to get going. If your chimney is functioning and the flue is in good working order then you might prefer a traditional wood-burning stove, log-burning stove or Victorian fireplace for your period property or cottage. But it is also about the ambience that different fireplaces and stoves can create. What are the key differences between fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, electric fires, flueless gas fires and the rest? Some fuels burn more efficiently than others in certain conditions. In a world of dizzying choice – gas fires, electric fires, wood-burning stoves, multi-fuel stoves – you need a fireplaces showroom or fireplace installation specialist to ensure you don’t get your fingers burned. Arguably all have become personal style statements. Fast forward to the present day and engineering has advanced to such a degree that some fireplaces roar without interruption, while others are smoke free. That’s because they offer more than warmth they are focal points and each fireplace is a gathering place.
Like a moth to a flame, people have been drawn to fires and fireplaces since the dawn of civilisation.