How to supply a gas fireplace with gas?

We would like to have a fireplace in our house. From the beginning, we planned a classic wood-burning fireplace. Since it is a KfW55 house with controlled residential ventilation, the last stove builder we consulted strongly recommended a gas fireplace. Basically, he was right with his argument, and we are now seriously considering getting a gas fireplace.

My only question is how to supply the fireplace with gas. Basically, I have two options.

[*]Have the gas line from the street installed into the house and connect the fireplace directly. However, we are getting an LWWP, so the gas connection would only be for the fireplace. I don’t have prices yet, but I think it won’t be cheap to have the connection installed into the house. What I wonder about is how the gas tariff would work? I would basically be a low-consumption customer. How much gas does the fireplace need roughly over the year? Would you even get a contract with a supplier? Does it make sense considering the basic fees...

[*]I imagine placing 33-liter (are those the largest bottles one can get?) gas bottles behind the garage and piping the gas from there into the living room to the stove. Does that make sense? How long does such a bottle last? Do you always replace them yourself, or do you have them delivered? What does the bottle option cost?

Maybe someone has a gas fireplace and can say something about these options.

I am not familiar with a gas fireplace. But why or with what arguments did your stove builder advise against a wood fireplace? You are not the first who wants that in combination with a ventilation system.

That is probably more the rule by now...

By the way, I consider the option with the gas bottle not acceptable to the chimney sweep.

It's a bit off-topic now, but I'll try to explain briefly.

For us, the fireplace is to be built into the room on the exterior wall. Basically as a room divider between the living and dining room. We don't want the fireplace for heating, but for ambiance. The problem will probably be that due to the KfW55 construction method it will get too warm. The wood fireplace must be filled with an amount of wood suitable for the respective combustion chamber. Otherwise, the wood does not burn properly, the necessary heat is not generated in the combustion chamber, and the glass panes get heavily sooted. In other words, we would have to choose a very small combustion chamber, which would not look nice in such a bulky fireplace (since it's a room divider). Another problem for us would be the chimney pipe, which would protrude very far out of the roof and also look very ugly.

Advantages of a gas fireplace:

[*]we can use a significantly larger combustion chamber because the fire can be regulated practically at the push of a button
[*]much nicer designs can be implemented since the fireplace can also be suspended and does not require such a large structure
[*]no need to prepare/deliver wood
[*]no dirt from ash
[*]no fine dust pollution
[*]the glass panes do not get sooted and only need cleaning 1-2 times a year
[*]you have a flame throughout the entire burning duration (wood would burn quickly, then no flame but still hours of heat)
[*]the chimney pipe would protrude only about 1 meter from the roof and look unobtrusive
[*]the chimney sweep only needs to perform a measurement every 2 years and does not have to climb onto the roof to clean a pipe
[*]no pressure monitor is required, which would otherwise be needed because of the extractor hood and controlled residential ventilation
[*]the fireplace can theoretically be integrated into my KNX bus system

I'm sure I've forgotten something. Basically, there are almost only advantages.
The major "disadvantages" for me are:

[*]for me, "making fire" actually belongs with it. That I would then no longer have. Although after a few years you might be glad about it
[*]you have to handle gas. But that shouldn't be a problem nowadays

Good, now the reasons are easier to understand. But I would quickly dismiss the "gas cylinder option," if only because you have 33 liters * 6.8 kw = 224 kw heating value in one cylinder. You will have to change it often if you also use the fireplace.

If a bottle contains 224 kW and the fireplace, let's say, has 8 kW, that would mean the fireplace would burn for 28 hours. Is that correct? I guess that you turn on a gas fireplace more often than a wood fireplace. It's just no effort. Just press a button. So it probably burns a few hours more often in winter. Let's say 6 hours a day. Then the bottle wouldn't even last a week with daily use. Hmm, it really depends on how you use the thing and whether it makes sense to have a gas connection installed. Alternatively, maybe a large tank could be buried in the garden. But then I would always have to have someone come to refill the tank. And I don't really find that option very attractive either. Difficult difficult...

Edit: I think I did some wrong calculations. That can't be. If price comparison calculators say that a 2-person household needs about 3,500 kWh per year for heating. Such a gas fireplace that you only turn on occasionally in winter can't consume that much.

Hi,
I hadn’t heard of gas fireplaces before, but they actually don’t sound bad at all...!
Only you can answer the cost question yourself. A gas connection will probably cost you about €1500-2000 (in addition to the other house connections). Of course, you could buy quite a few gas bottles for that. The question is also whether the gas fireplace is cheaper or more expensive than a regular one.
In severe frost, you might have problems with the gas supply from the bottle, which is why in winter the autogas mixture is adjusted more towards butane.
Propane gas has a heating value of 12.8 kWh/kg. A fireplace with a usual heating output of 6 kW will therefore consume about 0.5 kg of gas per hour. So the bottle needs to be changed every 65 hours.

The "problem" of the place getting too warm when the fireplace is running is something you will have in any modern house. Most neighbors here also open a window when lighting up.

Best regards,

Andreas