Can I add a remote control to a gas fireplace that only has a wall switch?
In Leicester, yes — and here's the part that matters on these rural properties with limited electrical capacity: a millivolt gas fireplace with a battery-powered remote receiver needs no house electricity at all. The pilot's own current fires the valve, the handset runs on batteries, so you get remote-controlled heat even where power is marginal or the grid is down.
No house power required
A lot of Leicester homes sit on big rural lots where electrical service is limited, and that's exactly where millivolt fireplaces shine. The valve runs on the tiny current the pilot flame generates — no plug, no circuit board — and a remote receiver added to it works off its own batteries. So the handheld operates whether or not the house has power to spare, and keeps working through the outages that hit these Sandy Mush and Turkey Creek valleys. A radiant millivolt unit like Valor's is built around exactly that grid-independence.
Propane, and the wood caveat
Many of these homes run propane, which is no obstacle — the receiver matches an LP valve just as it does a natural-gas one. Wood heat is popular out here too, though, and that's the limit: a wood-burning fireplace or stove has no gas valve, so it can't take a remote. If you're on wood and want push-button convenience, the route is a wood-to-gas conversion, where a sealed insert brings the valve and the remote with it.
Licensed at the fuel side
Whether it's fitting a receiver or converting a firebox, connecting to the gas valve is licensed work in North Carolina — our lane, not a handyman's, and not a boxed kit. On the cold, clear nights when these valleys run several degrees below Asheville, that reliable, power-optional heat is worth having. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Leicester
We install and service fireplaces throughout Leicester and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- How do I pair or sync a new remote to my gas fireplace?
- How do I use the remote control that came with my gas fireplace?
- Can I control my gas fireplace from my phone or with Alexa or Google Home?
- Can I connect my gas fireplace to my home thermostat, like a Nest?
- Where are the batteries in my gas fireplace remote and receiver, and when should I change them?