How much gas does a standing pilot light use?
In Asheville, where most homes sit on a natural-gas main, a standing pilot's cost is genuinely small — a steady, round-the-clock trickle that lands as a minor line item. What varies more than the dollars is whether your fireplace even has a standing pilot: many newer South Asheville units light electronically and burn none at all.
Why the Asheville main keeps it cheap
On the natural-gas mains running through much of Asheville and the neighborhoods off them — Montford, North Asheville, West Asheville, Biltmore Village — gas is inexpensive enough per unit that a pilot burning nonstop barely moves the needle. The flame is tiny; what puts it on the bill is that it never goes out, day or night, summer or winter, whether or not you ever strike the fireplace. Across a whole idle season that continuous burn adds up to something modest and predictable — never a shock, and never worth much worry on the Asheville grid.
Old masonry conversions vs. new builds
The bigger question in Asheville is ignition type, and it splits along housing stock. Older Montford and North Asheville homes whose original masonry fireboxes we've converted to sealed gas inserts often run a millivolt standing pilot — a deliberate choice, because that pilot needs no electricity and keeps throwing heat when the grid goes down. Newer South Asheville construction with clean-face gas tends to light electronically or on battery backup, skipping the standing pilot entirely and its small continuous draw. Neither is wrong; they're different tradeoffs for different homes.
Come see the difference
If the pilot line item bugs you, or you want outage-ready heat without a 24/7 flame, come by our showroom at 629 Emma Rd and we'll show you both — a millivolt unit that runs pilot-lit and grid-independent, and an electronic-ignition model that skips the pilot. As a licensed gas contractor we can convert or reconfigure the ignition on many units, permit the work with Buncombe County, and pressure-test the line. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Asheville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Asheville and the rest of Buncombe County — we're headquartered right here.
Related questions
- Should I leave my gas fireplace pilot light on all summer or turn it off?
- Does the pilot light give off enough heat to warm up the room in summer?
- Are there benefits to leaving the pilot lit year-round, like keeping moisture and spiders out?
- How do I shut the pilot light off for the summer?
- Does turning the flame down make my gas fireplace use less gas?