The Gas Furnace - Pro's & Con's of Buying Gas Furnaces

When the electric is out, your gas furnace will probably not work

There are many ways to heat a home. Furnaces, pellet stoves, heat pumps, and fireplaces are among the most popular methods. Indoor furnaces generally run off of some type of gas, whether it be natural gas, fuel oil, or propane. Outdoor furnaces are operated by burning wood or coal in them – similar to indoor wood burners or coal stoves. Pellet stoves are like wood burners or coal stoves, but they burn pellets that are made of wood or corn rather than wooden logs or lumps of coal. Heat pumps cool homes as well as heat them. These are generally operated by electric only. At one point in time, fireplaces were for burning wood. However, there are now gas fireplaces and electric fireplaces that do not require any wood at all. They can be used to heat a home or used for decorative purposes only. Some people have more than one heating source in their homes. For instance, they may have a gas furnace and a fireplace. They do not usually need both sources to keep the house warm, so why have two heating sources?

A fireplace is capable of doing more than just heating a home. Lighting a fire can be very romantic, and sitting around the fire can be nostalgic. Therefore, a gas furnace may be used as a primary heating source, while a fireplace is used when the homeowners want to share a romantic evening together or gather the children for the annual reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

If your primary heating source is a natural gas, fuel oil, or propane furnace, a fireplace can come in handy when the power is out. When the electric is out, your gas furnace will probably not work. Although the furnace itself is operated with some sort of gas, the pump and the blower run off of electric. This means that your furnace will not kick on and produce heat or circulate heat throughout your home.