How many BTUs do I need if the fireplace is my backup heat source during power outages?
For an Arden home, size backup heat to one gathering room — about 20,000 to 40,000 BTU — but a sealed insert is usually the move, since Arden's open masonry fireplaces just pull heat out of the room. On the gas mains, battery-backup or millivolt ignition keeps it heating when the power's down.
Turn a drafty open fireplace into a heater
Arden's 1980s and 90s homes in Royal Pines and Skyland mostly have open masonry fireplaces that pull heat straight out of the room — pleasant to look at, useless as backup, and often running a net heat loss. Dropping in a sealed gas insert on a proper liner turns that tired box into a real heater sized to your gathering room, roughly 20,000 to 40,000 BTU, that runs whether or not the power's on. It's one of the most satisfying upgrades we do.
Battery-backup gas on the Arden mains
Arden's on the natural-gas mains, so most homes tie straight in, and a gas insert with battery-backup ignition — like the Napoleon line — keeps throwing heat with the grid down. The Valor H5's millivolt system needs no electricity at all. Skip electric for backup: it goes dark the instant the power does. Whatever you pick, running the gas line is licensed work we permit and pressure-test, not something a mason or delivery crew can legally connect.
Buncombe permit, 15 minutes south
We pull the Buncombe County permit and meet the inspector — permitted hearth work protects your home sale and homeowner's insurance down the road. Biltmore Park's retail and office spaces get the same gas-and-appliance treatment. We're 15 minutes south of the showroom, an easy trip for the free in-home assessment. Call (828) 545-0525.
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.
Related questions
- Does a gas fireplace need electricity, and will it still work in a power outage?
- What size gas fireplace do I need to keep a second home or cabin above freezing in winter?
- Can one gas fireplace or wood stove heat an entire house?
- Do I need an electrical outlet inside or near the fireplace for the blower and ignition?
- What is zone heating and how does it change what size fireplace I need?