Bioethanol vs gas fireplace: which is right for your NZ home?
Share
Both give you a real flame. The difference is everything around it: the flue, the trades, the servicing and where in the house the fire can go. This guide compares a bioethanol fire with an open-fronted gas fire.
Side by side
| Bioethanol | Open-fronted gas | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | No chimney, flue, fresh-air vent or utility connections. Freestanding models need no building work. | Needs a flue, a fresh-air vent, a gas connection and an electrical connection. |
| Flame and heat | A clean-burning real flame. With no flue, the warmth stays in the room. | Burns hotter, but much of the heat is lost up the flue. |
| Servicing | Stainless steel burners with no inaccessible moving parts. Clean them by hand when they need it. | Servicing every 12 to 18 months by a qualified gas fitter to keep the warranty. |
| Where it can go | Almost anywhere, including into a timber stud frame, to the manufacturer's clearances. | Only where a flue can run, which rules out many apartments and commercial fit-outs. |
| Fuel | Bioethanol, ordered online and delivered to your door. | LPG bottles, or natural gas where there is a connection. |
Installation
This is the biggest difference. A gas fire is a building project: a flue through the wall or roof, a gas line, power and the trades to do it. A bioethanol fire burns to heat, water vapour and carbon dioxide, so there is no smoke to carry away and nothing to connect. A freestanding fire is placed and lit. A built-in firebox still needs the clearances, materials and ventilation the manufacturer specifies, but not a flue.
Heat
Gas burns hotter and is the stronger choice if the fire is your main heater for a large space. Bioethanol gives roughly 1.7 to 6 kW from a single burner and keeps all of it in the room. See the real heat numbers.
Running cost
Per hour, gas is usually cheaper to run than bioethanol. A bioethanol burner costs about $1.70 to $6 an hour in fuel at full flame. Against that, there is no installation of a flue or gas line to pay for and no regular gas fitter visit. See running costs by burner size.
Design freedom
Because there is no flue, a bioethanol fire can hang from the ceiling, sit in joinery, go on a wall or stand in the middle of a room. That is why it is the usual answer for apartments, renovations where a flue is impractical, and rentals where you want to take the fire with you.
Which should you choose?
- Choose bioethanol if you want a real flame without building work, you live in an apartment or a home where a flue is hard to run, or the fire is for atmosphere and top-up warmth.
- Choose gas if you need the fire to be the main heat source for a large room, you already have a gas connection and a flue path, and you are happy with the installation and servicing.
Some of our EcoSmart fire pit tables can be ordered for bioethanol or for LPG or natural gas, so outdoors you can have either.
Talk it through
Tell us about the room and how you want to use the fire and we will give you a straight answer, including when gas is the better fit. Call 0800 468 836 or see the range lit in our Takapuna showroom, open seven days. More detail is on our Why bioethanol page.