I'm interested in putting either a pellet or gas insert into our fireplace. Here's the background:

We have a large brick fireplace in our basement, but we currently never use it because it suffers from bad downdrafts that blow smoke INTO the house. My wife also has asthma so we are looking for something clean burning. We don't need it as a primary heat source, just something to make our family room cosy AND as a heat backup for power outages (in central NY). The family room is about 500 sq ft.

We're looking at pellet stoves because we have no gas service. There is no electric running to the fireplace. What advice/recommendations do you have for a pellet insert? How much are we looking to pay for installation and the stove? What are our options for using the stove during power outages?

What about gas inserts? What would be required use a gas insert and would these meet our needs?

Thanks for your help!

John near Binghamton