Gas insert vs pellet insert — which is better for my fireplace?
In Arden, the gas insert is the classic fix for the tired open masonry fireplaces in Royal Pines and Skyland — the ones that pull heat out of the room instead of adding it. Sealed and lined, a gas insert turns that draft into 70%-plus efficient warmth at the flip of a switch. A pellet insert heats too, but adds a machine and a power cord to the deal.
Turning a heat-loser into a heater
The 1980s-90s homes across Skyland, Royal Pines, and Glenn Bridge mostly came with open masonry fireplaces, and by now a lot of them are tired and drafty — wide open, they can actually run a net heat loss, pulling warmed air straight up the chimney. This is the single most common upgrade we do in this part of Buncombe County: seal that box with an insert and a correctly sized liner, and it flips to 70% efficient or better. The only real question is which fuel-burning insert does it.
Gas keeps it simple; pellet adds machinery
On Arden's natural-gas mains, a gas insert is about as low-friction as heat gets — connect the line, and it's flip-switch flame with one service a year. A pellet insert reaches similar efficiency but earns it through work: filling the hopper, emptying ash, cleaning the burn pot, and living with a blower's hum. It also can't run in an outage, where a gas insert on millivolt or battery-backup ignition keeps going. Running and permitting the gas line with Buncombe County and pressure-testing it is licensed work a showroom legally can't finish. Call (828) 545-0525; we're 15 minutes south.
Fireplace help in Arden
We install and service fireplaces throughout Arden and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.