How much gas does a standing pilot light use?
At nearly 2,650 feet, Waynesville runs 10 to 15 degrees colder than lower WNC and its heating season stretches about three weeks longer — which actually shrinks the window a standing pilot sits idle. You lean on the hearth more months of the year, so the pilot's small continuous draw spends fewer weeks burning for nothing.
Elevation shortens the idle season
The reason a standing pilot registers on a bill is idle time — the flame burning around the clock through months you never light a fire. In a warm valley town that idle stretch is long; in Waynesville it's not. The cold arrives early and lingers, so many Hazelwood and downtown homes are running their fireplaces from fall well into spring, and the pilot is doing real work most of that time rather than trickling gas in an empty firebox. The upshot: the 'wasted' portion of a Waynesville pilot's yearly cost is smaller than in the valleys below.
Natural gas or propane changes the math
Waynesville is a mixed-fuel town. Where a home is on the natural-gas main, the pilot's cost is minor either way. Out on propane — common on the slopes and coves around here — that same little flame is a slightly more noticeable trickle out of the tank between fills, since propane runs pricier per unit of energy. Propane homeowners are the ones most likely to shut the pilot off during the short off-season, or to ask about electronic ignition that burns no standing pilot at all and lights only on demand.
Keep it lit through the cold
For most Waynesville homes we'd leave the pilot burning right through the heating season — it keeps the firebox dry and the unit ready for the next single-digit night, and its cost is small against how hard you use the fireplace up here. If you want to drop it, we can convert many units to electronic ignition; that's licensed gas work we permit through Haywood County and pressure-test. We're 35 minutes west. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Waynesville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Waynesville and the rest of Haywood County — just 35 minutes west 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?