How much gas does a standing pilot light use?
For Hendersonville homes on the natural-gas main, a standing pilot costs very little — a small, steady draw that shows up as a minor, entirely predictable line on your monthly bill. For the many retirees here who value a fixed, no-surprise gas cost, that predictability is the point: it never spikes, and plenty of the quiet sealed units chosen locally skip the standing pilot altogether.
Predictable by design
Hendersonville's retirement households tend to want heat that's quiet, low-maintenance, and easy to budget, and a standing pilot fits that in an odd way — because it burns the same tiny amount every hour of every day, there's nothing variable about it. On the Henderson County natural-gas main, per-unit cost is low, so a pilot idling through a warm season adds up to a small, steady figure rather than anything you'd notice against a cold-snap heating bill. It's the size of a nightlight's worth of gas, running without pause.
Sealed gas, often no pilot at all
Many of the low-maintenance sealed gas fireplaces we install for Main Street homes and the Spartanburg Highway subdivisions use electronic or battery-backup ignition, which means no standing pilot and no continuous draw whatsoever — the burner lights only when you call for a fire. If you'd rather keep a standing pilot for its dead-simple, electricity-free operation, that's a fine choice too; it just carries that small round-the-clock cost. Hendersonville's clay-heavy soil that settles foundations and stresses older masonry chimneys is a separate matter — worth an inspection when we're out.
What we'd tell you
For most homes here the standing-pilot cost isn't worth a second thought, but if you're on a fixed income and want it gone, shutting it off each summer or moving to electronic ignition both work well. Converting a unit is licensed gas work we permit through Henderson County and pressure-test before we leave. We're 25 minutes south of our Asheville showroom and glad to walk your setup and tell you honestly whether it's worth changing. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Hendersonville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Hendersonville and the rest of Henderson County — just 25 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.
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?