Brevard, North Carolina

Will converting my wood fireplace to gas reduce my environmental impact?

For Brevard, yes — with a propane twist. Out here in Transylvania's cabin country the fuel is usually propane, which burns every bit as clean as a gas main with essentially no wood smoke or particulate. And in a town that sees 80-plus inches of rain a year, converting away from a moisture-damaged open chimney fixes a smoke problem you may not know you have.

Propane country burns clean too

Brevard sits in propane territory — the cabins and many downtown homes run liquid propane rather than a gas main. That's no downside for air quality: propane burns to mostly carbon dioxide and water vapor with practically no particulate, the same clean combustion as natural gas. A sealed propane insert like Kozy Heat's Springfield is a common call for propane-country cabins, and it erases the PM2.5 smoke that an open wood fire pushes into our wet mountain air.

Rain, damaged chimneys, and smoke that backs up

Transylvania's rainfall is brutal on masonry — 80-plus inches a year cracks crowns, spalls brick, and rusts dampers, especially on the crawl-space and chimney-chase homes common around here. A compromised chimney draws poorly, and a wood fire that draws poorly spills smoke and its particulate back into the house. Converting to a sealed insert takes the open flue out of the equation: combustion is contained, venting is controlled, and you stop breathing what a leaky chimney used to leak. It's an indoor-air win on top of the outdoor one.

The carbon note and the permit

Propane, like natural gas, is a fossil fuel, so you trade a little carbon for much cleaner air and real efficiency — an open masonry fire loses heat up the flue while a sealed insert commonly runs 70% or better. Carbon purists can stay on wood with an EPA-certified insert instead. Either way the fuel connection is licensed work; we pull the Transylvania County permit and pressure-test every line. Call (828) 545-0525.

Fireplace help in Brevard

We install and service fireplaces throughout Brevard and the rest of Transylvania County — just 40 minutes southwest from our Asheville-area showroom.

Fireplace services in Brevard General answer (all of WNC)

This answer for nearby towns

Arden Asheville Black Mountain Candler Canton Clyde Fairview Flat Rock