First of all, there is a 30% tax credit (on parts and labor!) on better-quality inserts right now if you can get them in service (not just paid for) by Dec. 31. I suggest you see if you can get an insert job done; Maybe Uncle Sam will pay for the insert if you cover the labor. Now for your main question about doing it without an insert. I looked into this once and concluded that without an insert, gas log conversions from any type wood burning fireplace are mainly for ambience, not heat. The best I could come up with was, I learned that some RH Petersen logs with GF in the part number are designed to work with doors closed and thus keep the heat in the firebox instead of going up the flue. Maybe we could hear from someone with GF logs. There are also some other brands that advertise "reduced vent" logs, you might ask about those. In both cases I have my doubts about, even if it does produce heat, how much, and is it practical to get it to work with a thermostat.

Yes, we installed a Lenox in our basement last spring. The fire is realistic but the main purpose was to provide auxulary heat - especially for spring/fall when the furnace is not running much. We did not want a gas log set because they generate too much heat to enjoy and personally do not believe the unvented ones to be safe. With electric, the fire and heat are separately controlled. A photo is included amongst ones of our basement linked from "My Page"

We bought one for our new house. It will be surrounded by a custom mantle. We couldn't resist it and took it out of the box and set it on the floor while the framing for the surround is being done. It is wonderful! Because it heats our living room very well, we don't even bother with the heat on in the rest of the house. The only heat we have really been using is the fireplace. I read an article (can't find the link at the moment) that touted how energy efficient an efp is because one does not need to heat the entire home, just the occupied room. For us, that has been very true. The flames are very real looking. With our surround built into the wall to mimic a traditional wb fireplace, I imagine it will look even better. I didn't care for those premade mantle/fireplace packages at the store, so the insert with a mantle made for our house worked better for us. The light alone is wonderful to eat by and the remote makes things very handy. Though I love real fireplaces, I lived through a couple incidents as a child that make me weary of the safety issues. Ours is worry-free.

Ours does not put out a lot of heat....just enough to take the chill out of the room.....this is before turning on our furnace. Ours can be without flame or with flame and has different heat settings.