Keep The Home Fires Burning With Gas..........great advise from Valor Gas fires!

With the current cold and very wet, more and more households will be reluctant to turn up the heating for fear of excessive fuel bills. Recent measures announced by the Energy and Climate Change Secretary to limit increases in household energy bills will provide few crumbs of comfort for the estimated 2.5 million people across the UK who are already looking to take out a loan of some sort just to make sure they can cover their fuel bills this year, according to uswitch.com.
 
The manufacture Valor gas fires are therefore promoting that gas remains by far the cheapest fuel to run and that gas fires are the most cost-efficient direct heating option available. Not only do gas fires offer warmth and visual comfort, they provide more than enough heat output to act as a primary source of heat for many living rooms. Please find the results Valor gas fires have researched so we can pass on to our customers -

Typically, 1kW of gas costs just 4.3p compared to nearly 13.5p for 1kW of electricity according to Sutherland Tables October ’13.  Not only that, running a gas fire is actually more beneficial to the environment too, as it delivers half the CO2 emissions of an electric fire.

The flame effect and authenticity provided by gas fires means they are still the number one choice for homes, despite the advances in electric fires over recent years. Combined with high heat efficiencies and low running costs, today’s gas fires offer affordable warmth, visual comfort and are a powerful weapon in the fight against fuel poverty.

Since the decline of solid fuel, gas fires have become the ‘heart’ of the British home and long may this continue. Against a backdrop of rising energy prices, it is our job to reassure heating installers and homeowners that aside from its superior aesthetics, gas is the most affordable and cost-efficient option available.

For those homes trapped in fuel poverty, the low running costs provided by a gas fire is a welcome relief. They can benefit from all the warmth and comfort of a gas fire without having to worry about excessive bills.

The gas-guzzling decorative gas fires from the 1980’s are now a thing of the past. Thanks to developments in technology, gas fires today are capable of delivering heat efficiencies of up to 89% and heat outputs of 4.8kW. For some living rooms, this is more than enough to act as a primary source of heat.

The elderly also benefit from the heat of a gas fire. During recent freezing winters, it is reassuring to know that they can rely on a gas fire. Even if their boiler breaks down due to condensate freeze, for example, they can stay safe and comfortable until everything is back up and running.

Whilst there are still 11 million homes in the UK with a chimney and a gas point, the absence of a chimney no longer restricts the installation of a gas fire. This is due to the wealth of balanced flue gas fire models now available that simply require an outside wall for installation.

Gas is also clean and convenient with no ash residue and odours. It is never subject to disrupted power supplies, and with no complex electronics to worry about, maintenance is minimal. Natural gas is also one of the safest sources of energy, and homeowners can rest assured that their gas fire has already obtained independent approval to qualify for CE marking.

Gas Fire Benefits.......with Valor and Robinson Willey Gas fires

As  Christmas has now past however many more  cold  snap  on  their  way,  more  and  more households  will  be  reluctant to  turn  up  the  heating for fear  of  excessive fuel  bills.  Recent measures  announced  by  the  Energy  and  Climate  Change  Secretary  to  limit  increases  in household  energy  bills  will  provide  few  crumbs  of  comfort  for  the  estimated  2.5  million people across the UK people who are already looking to take out a loan of some sort just to make sure they can cover their fuel bills this year, according to u.switch.com. The elderly in particular are most at risk of fuel poverty this winter.  As many face a choice between heating and eating, turning up the fire in the event of a cold snap is completely out of the question. With an estimated 31,000 deaths in England and Wales - most over the age of 75 - caused by the cold weather winter in 2012, it’s an issue that raises serious concerns.

Richard Beaman, Commercial Director of the Gas Fire Division, part of the GDC Group  (Baxi, Robinson Willey, Valor and Wonderfire)- the UK heating division of the  multi-national Glen Dimplex Group, explains: “According to Age UK, more than three million older people are worried about staying warm indoors this winter -  with six million anxious about rising fuel bills.  The Government’s response to encourage homeowners to wrap up in jumpers and use electric blankets to keep warm is quite frankly not enough.” We want to reassure homeowners and the elderly in particular, that gas remains by far the cheapest fuel to run*  and  that gas fires  are  the most cost-efficient direct heating option available. Not only do gas fires offer warmth and visual comfort, they provide more than enough heat output to act as a primary source of heat for many living rooms.”The elderly can also benefit from the heat of a gas fire in other ways too. In freezing winters, it is reassuring to know that they can rely on a gas fire, even if their boiler breaks down due to condensate freeze, for example, as they can stay safe and comfortable until everything is back up and running.  Richard concludes:  “Despite the  Government’s  promises  to  restrict  energy  increases, homeowners  still  face  exorbitant  bills.  As a result, many remain ignorant to the cost efficiencies of running a gas fire and are reluctant to increase its usage during the colder months. It’s important that we all understand that a gas fire will not only provide affordable and effective warmth, it could help save lives,” stresses Richard.

The flame effect and authenticity provided by gas fires means they are still the number one choice for many homes, despite the advances in electric fires over recent years.  The gas guzzling decorative  gas  fires  from  the  1980’s  are  now  a  thing  of  the  past.  Thanks to developments in  technology,  gas fires today are capable of delivering  heat efficiencies of up to 89% and heat outputs of up to 4.8kW (such as the Valor Homeflame Harmony gas fire range). There are an estimated 11 million homes in the UK with a chimney and a gas point, although the absence of a chimney no longer restricts the installation of a gas fire. This is due to the wealth  of  balanced  flue gas fire models  now  available  that  simply  require  an  outside  wall  for installation. Gas  is  also  clean  and  convenient  with  no  ash  residue  and  odours.  It is never subject to disrupted power supplies, and with no complex electronics to worry about, maintenance is minimal. Natural gas is also one of the safest sources of energy, and homeowners can rest assured  that  their  gas  fire  has  already  obtained  independent  approval  to  qualify  for  CE marking.

This fantastic article was taken from the GDC Group Gas Fire Division, which is in turn part of leading multi-national Glen Dimplex Group incorporating there brands - Valor and Robinson Willey (both manufactures can be found on www.fires2u.com)

Which Electric fire or Gas fire is right for your home?

At Fires2u.com we have an extensive range of fires and fireplaces for our customers to choose from. Your choice will obviously depend on your individual needs such as where you want to position your fire and if you have a chimney or flue. To make this choice a little easier we have highlighted the main types of products that we sell and also the chimney/flue types that can be found in many homes-

ELECTRIC APPLIANCES

Electric Fireplaces

These stylish electric fireplaces come complete with the electric fire as an all in one solution. With no need for a chimney or flue these fireplaces can be positioned in many different room types and are available in different sizes and styles to suit your home.

Wall Mounted Electric Fires

Simply hang on the wall, plug in and then one of our wall mounted electric fires spring into life. With 100% efficient heat and stunning flame effects our electric fires are supplied with either manual and/or remote controls a choice of fascias to suit your internal decoration and a fixing kit for easy installation.

Inset and Hole in the Wall Electric Fires

An ‘inset’ or ‘hole in the wall’ type of fire will normally require a recess to house the engine of the electric fire – this might either be a conventional chimney breast or alternatively a purpose built false chimney breast (the ‘inset depth’ dimensions of all our products can be located when clicking on the information page of our products and then clicking on the dimension tab). Some inset electric fires either come with a spacer kit or can be purchased with one for additional cost which then allows the fire to be fitted freestanding against a flat wall.

Electric Stoves

Electric stoves are freestanding appliances that come with an approx 1 metre of cable with a UK 3 pin socket and can then be simply plugged in.

TYPES OF FLUE OR CHIMNEY

Below is a simple explanation of the various types of flues which will help you make an informed decision on which gas fire maybe right for you and your home needs:

Brick built chimneys

Brick built chimneys can be identified by a brick built chimney stack and by chimney pots. Brick built chimneys give you the widest choice of fires and can accommodate gas fires with full depth fire chambers as well as most inset electric fires*

Pre-fabricated flues

These can be identified by an external metal flue pipe or cowl on the roof and may have a false chimney breast in the room to conceal the metal flue in the home. Pre-fabricated flues can accommodate some slimline gas fires and also some inset electric fires*

Pre-cast flues

Check for a ridge tile vent or a metal flue pipe with cowl. Pre-cast flues are built into cavity walls and can accommodate some slimline gas fires and some inset electric fires*

No chimney or flue

If you can’t see a chimney or Flue as described above then you may require a Balanced Flue or 

Powerflue* gas fire -

Powerflue

Powerflue gas fires use an electronically driven fan unit mounted on the external wall to expel the flue gasses directly outside the building. All the powerflue gas fires we sell our open fronted fires.

Balanced Flue

Balanced Flue fires use a horizontal pipe to vent directly outside. An electricity supply is not required and all Balanced Flue gas fires are glass fronted.

*Fires2u always recommend you check the dimension sizes on our website and also if you are purchasing any gas product you can request the installation instructions of this product by contacting us via email (installation@fires2u.com) with the name of fire you are interested in. We then advise check this information with a registered gas safe fitter who can make sure the product will be suitable for you homes needs before you purchase