Adding Additional Heat To A Home

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 10th grade February 2008

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There are several ways to add additional heat to a home. Two popular methods are gas logs and wood-burning stoves. Gas logs are more advanced than the wood burning stoves. Wood burning stoves are more conventional. Gas logs and wood burning stoves are both effective ways of adding heat to a home.

Gas logs are extremely easy to use. The porcelain logs are placed inside the fireplace just like wood. A small flame flickers to make the logs look more real. If a person wants the heat to be circulated in the room, a blower is used to push the heat into the area. The first step in having gas logs is to choose a set from a gas company to be installed. Once a year a small fee will have to be paid to the gas company to rent a gas tank to run the logs off of.

Last the gas company will install the gas logs. Once the logs are installed, the only thing a person has to do to stay warm is to turn a small dial to activate the logs. The other way of adding heat to a home is a wood-burning stove. Wood burning stoves are not as common now as they used to be. The stove is usually purchased at a building material store. A large pipe is connected to the stove and inserted in the roof of the house to release the smoke produced. The stove burns wood logs to generate the additional heat.

The price of gas logs is fairly expensive. The logs range from $350.00 to $400.00. A gas tank is needed which costs about $55.00 a year to rent. The propane cost $1.30 a gallon. The price varies according to the season. The tank will need to be refilled about every four weeks. Filling the tank will cost about $200.00 each time. The cost of labor to have the system installed is $50.00 an hour. The installation lasts about two hours. An estimated total to set the logs is $945.00. Wood burning stoves are not as expensive as gas logs. The price for a wood-burning stove starts around $200.00. The wood has to be cut manually or bought for about $100.00 per cord. The cord will probably last about two months. If a person has a wood-burning stove installed, they must also watch for pieces of burning wood, which can cause damage to the floor and surrounding areas.

Gas logs are expensive, but they do not require any work or cleaning. The owner does not have to worry about ashes or pieces of wood lying around the house. Gas logs do not leave a smoky odor in the house or on the cloths of the people living in it. Gas logs provide heating without any troubles, smells or unattractive sights. Unlike gas logs, wood burning stoves are not very clean. Ashes and soot collect in the bottom of the stove and have to be cleaned out periodically. A constantly dirty stove can become annoying. The stoves also release fumes in the house leaving furniture, clothes, and company with a smoky odor. It is no fun when a person has to drag wood through the house to reload the wood- pile. It is troublesome for a person to have to carry buckets of ashes and soot outside. With splinters of wood, ashes, and soot throughout the house, cleaning becomes non-stop. Maintenance is the primary reason that gas logs are gradually replacing wood burning stoves.

Gas logs are obviously the quicker and easier way to heat a home. There is never any work required, never a smoky smell, and they are not as dangerous as fires. The main difference between the two is the cost. A person may not have enough money to buy gas logs. A person can get by with the wood-burning stove. Gas logs and wood burning stoves are both effective ways of adding heat to a home.