We did exactly what you are considering. Our insert is a Regency Horizon_______ (I'd have to look up the exact model # if you want it). Ours cost somewhere around $5,000, two years ago.

Ours came with a remote control, which controls multiple fan/blower speeds, and flame height, in addition to on/off, and modes. The fireplace does light using the remote during power outages, however, the fan does not work at all during power outages. We turn the pilot light on when the weather turns colder, and leave it on until spring, when we are pretty much finished using the fireplace for the season. Otherwise, the intermittent pilot times out while trying to light (during the colder months).

We prefer a more contemporary look, so chose black crystals rather than "logs" for our fp. There was a promotion going on when we purchased ours, so we got the glossy black enamel panels/liner for free.

Our fp heats up the room quite well (it really cranks out a lot of heat!), and does so pretty quickly, too.

Only downside I can think of; after a winter of use, deposits build up on the crystals (mostly where the flames come out), causing a section of the crystals to look cloudy, not shiny and sparkly. Luckily, this is easily remedied by cleaning the crystals in a bucket of soapy water. This involves removing all the crystals from the fp, which isn't difficult, just somewhat tedious, scooping out handfuls of glass crystals.

The glossy enamel walls and fp glass should also be cleaned to remove residue or build-up so it doesn't bake in--at least once or twice a year (?). I use a cream-based fp glass cleaner. I found it does a much better job than the spray-on kind. You are not supposed to use regular glass cleaner (especially not one containing ammonia) on ceramic fp glass.

We have one, a vent less, and it does put out the heat really well.
The main floor goes from 63 degrees to above 70 in a short time and we all enjoy the fire ambiance when it's on. I don't know the model/make, however, but do know they are much cheaper than running the heat pump. We have a 14' great room ceiling, a double sided fireplace, and 9' ceilings elsewhere.

I already started a similar post and got lots of good feedback but I was looking at a similar but much cheaper option, gas logs (versus the full insert). I'm looking at having them installed in time for thanksgiving since I'm hosting and would love to have a nice clean burn without the smoke/soot damage a real wood fire can cause. Looking forward to following the comments here for additional insight.

I just ordered this set - total cost was under $500 including remote starter:

Alpine Flame 24-Inch Grand Mountain Vented Gas Log Set

While it will not heat the entire room like a gas insert would, it will certainly be warmer in front of the fire while burning. I wanted a clean burn and mostly ambiance so I think I'll be very happy, for the cost. We can always convert to the gas insert in a few years when we're ready to spend big bucks upfront to save on energy costs.

CatMom: Thanks for that info. we have a regency dealer in the area and plan to look at theirs. I am probably wrong about the blower working during an outage. Does the fire put out much heat without the blower?

Bumblebeez: Good to know it heats that well.

Rebecca: We have had the gas logs set-up in past houses and enjoyed being able to start a fire with a switch and turn off at night the same way. We came home from work and turned it on almost every night. I know we wouldn't have done that with a real wood fire. We are just looking for more energy efficiency and something that will heat during a power outage this time around. I hope you enjoy yours as much as we did ours!

Lizbeth: that's good to hear! I figured for the money, it suits our purposes just fine. I'm in a suburb outside of Boston so power outages have never been an issue but if you live in a more rural location I could see how that would be a much higher priority. I do love the warmth that comes from a wood stove or gas insert, but my DH is always hot anyway so that would just be one more thermostat we'd fight over :)

Rebeccamom123- very nice looking log set. Enjoy!

re blower during power outage, we installed a wood burning insert with an electric blower, but we have it wired so that, when the power goes out, we can plug it into the generator so that the blower operates. Came in very handy for hurricane Sandy last year when we lost power then the temperatures dropped. Perhaps you can set up a gas insert with blower in the same way, if the blower is electric.

Our blower is noisy, which is the only thing I don't like about our Jotl insert. Other than that, it was one of the best $3000 we spent on house improvements.

This post was edited by awm03 on Tue, Nov 19, 13 at 8:47

We have 3 gas stoves and 2 wood burning stoves in 2 different homes. From my experience I can readily recommend the manufacturers - Hearthstone (Vermont) and Jotul (Norway). We had an Avalon wood burning insert in our fireplace which we used regularly for 15 years. When we updated our family room we installed black granite over the bricks on the fireplace and installed a free standing cream colored Jotul gas stove. It can heat the entire room easily so we usually have it set on low.

We have a vacation home in the mountains and keep the furnace set at 55 degrees in the winter. When we arrive we turn on the Hearthstone Sterling in our bedroom and it warms the room quickly. It has a remote and a temperature controlled thermostat but we removed the blower because we didn't need it in our bedroom. We also heat the apartment over the garage with another Jotul.

We have 2 Hearthstone wood burning stoves that heat the rest of the vacation house. We have 100+ acres of forest so we have more wood than we can ever use.

The Hearthstones are enamel with soapstone or granite and the stone will warm up and continue to radiate heat into the room. You can look at their web sites where the models are rated on how much square feet they heat. The Jotuls we selected are all enamel.

I heat only with woodburning stoves. I am switching out my 30 year old Vermont Castings wood stove for a Jotul Oslo sometime this winter. (Yeah, I know we couldn't get it done during summer when we weren't using it, could we?).

I have had enamel stoves, but they are not as hard-wearing as the simple cast iron ones. But keep in mind that since this our only source of heat 'way north near the Adirondacks, our stoves burn 24/7 from November through April. But I would never get another enameled stove because if they get dinged, there's no good repair. Once a year I use stove blacking on the cast iron ones and they look good as new afterward.

L.