Wood-to-gas vs wood-to-electric conversion — which is better for my fireplace?

From heat-loser to heater

The open masonry fireplaces in Arden's Royal Pines and Skyland neighborhoods were never efficient — an open firebox can actually run a net heat loss, sending more warm air up the chimney than it returns to the room. That's the exact problem a sealed gas insert solves: it closes the opening, and at 70 percent efficiency or better it turns a tired, drafty hole into a real heater. You're on the natural-gas main here, which keeps that conversion clean and the fuel line straightforward for most of these neighborhoods.

Draft is the shared win; heat and the permit are the difference

Both conversions share one win — they seal that leaky flue and stop the cold-air draft the old firebox pulls in. Where they part ways is heat. A gas insert genuinely warms the room and, on millivolt or battery-backup ignition, keeps doing it through a power outage; an electric conversion gives you the flame and about 5,000 BTU of supplemental warmth that quits the moment the grid does. Around Skyland especially, an outage-proof hearth has been one of the most-requested upgrades since the region's long power failures — worth weighing before you choose the simpler unit.

Running that gas line is licensed work — a showroom can sell the box, only a licensed gas contractor can connect it — so we permit with Buncombe County and meet the inspector. We're fifteen minutes south. Call (828) 545-0525 for a free assessment.