Where will the home be? The answer is likely quite different in Texas than Alaska.

It’s in Utah:) good point! Definitely have winters, but I’ve never had a fireplace so I don’t know that I’d be missing it? I also work a lot and live alone.

This really depends on whether you'll use it, how long you plan on staying in the house, whether it will affect resale for your market at your price point, and, of course, whether you can afford it. I would consider it a must-have (I even chose my first apartment based on a fireplace). Your mileage may vary, though, as they say.

We live in the northwest and have a gas fireplace and it’s wonderful in the winter. We like to keep the heat low at night, and the fireplace is so cozy in the morning! And nothing beats a book in front of the fire.

Fireplace.......YES!!!!! You won't regret it.

Why not? Direct vents are for show ... they do not produce heat and require an opening in the house.

Our favorite fireplace is gas logs with remote control. So convenient for chilly afternoons, great for cold evenings. If we have the fire on and suddenly decide to run out to the store we can turn off the fire easily.

I had the same concern when picking options for my new home! I live in Maryland which can have chilly winters, so I went with the fireplace.

Ya! And I will be one of those peeps who has a tv above the fireplace... which I know looks tacky but for real... it’s gonna happen..

Thank you for that info!! I worry about maintenance, cost and overall use.. a fireplace wasn’t on my must have list but I’ve been told several times that it will raise the value of my house and I’ll love it.. all of which I believe! But will it raise the value enough to worry about the costs? Or the worry when I smell gas and think my house is gonna blow up?!

If you smell gas, worry. I've had gas fireplaces for a very long time, and my parents have several, and we don't smell gas from any of them. Actually, if you smell gas, use your emergency gas shut-off valve on the fireplace, then call for service.

Going back to the question of how long you plan on staying in the house, what do you see when you look around at local listings? Here in the Midwest, I think a house without a fireplace in the living room or family room would be at a disadvantage on the market, as pretty much every free standing house has at least one fireplace. In Utah that may not be the case.

" . . . and live alone."

Ask the people you have over to your house most frequently what they want.

There is some inaccurate information here to weed out.

Direct vent gas fireplaces can be very efficient, and most will work in a power outage when your central heating won't.

Direct vent gas fireplaces do not affect indoor air quality or efficiency of the home.

There is some maintenance to consider, and some cost of operation, but in most cases your heating bill will not be adversely affected by using a fireplace for zone heat.

Don't get a cheap one.

I would always opt for the fireplace. Even when I lived in Tucson,Arizona we had and used the fireplace for supplimental heating, on the rare but chilly night and for added added ambiance. AND let me add that if you have the means for more than one fireplace, you haven't lived until you've had a lovely dinner by the fireside. Also they do NOT cause floorplan conflicts but rather enhance the space by providing an instant focal point.

Utah has some pretty varied temperature zones (six months of snow in Park City vs eternal summer in St George), but overall I'd say absolutely yes to the fireplace. I'm biased though. We recently installed a Heat & Glo 6000 through Hearth and Home, and I wish we had done it years ago!

I agree. I've got seven fireplaces. Two are gas, the rest wood. Three of these have gas starters. I've never smelled gas. If you do, something is wrong.

I'm in Utah also, it's a must here if you want to sell your home one day. It's also fantastic in the fall and winter...warm evenings/mornings by the fire! The ambiance, and a good one will also help in heating your house. A missing fireplace would be a deal breaker for me in Utah if I were to buy a new home (unless you are in St George).

We have always had several, first wood, then direct-vent natural gas. But just for looks as they are de rigeur in higher-end homes. The ones in the basement were useful in taking the chill out of the summer a/c.

We installed several direct vent fireplaces and do not regret. Love sitting by the fire on a chilly day/evening reading a book by a sparkling fireplace. We previously had wood burning fireplaces and I really struggled with installing the direct vent fireplaces and now is one of the features that I show off when anyone comes into my home. I love being able to just press a button and instant fire. I do not miss dragging in wood, starting a fire, keeping the fire going, hiring a fire sweep to clean, etc. all that comes along with a wood burning fireplace.

A fireplace can be a real showpiece in the home and you have so many options with a new build. I think it is worth the extra sum to add a direct vent fireplace and since my fireplaces are direct vent you do not lose any energy but add a stunning feature to your room along with added warmth when needed.

There is always the possibility of a power outage. The electric starter on our gas furnace won't work then so a gas stove could be a life saver.

Gas fireplace as life saver? I think it's the opposite if anything. Direct vent DV gas fireplaces need electricity to circulate heat. Most won't even turn on without electricity, a good safety feature that prevents backdrafting. Not sure I would trust a DV appliance without powered venting of combustion exhaust and ventless gas fireplaces do not belong in homes.

A better way to create resilience for power outages is to build so efficiently (airtight and continuously insulated) that gas fireplaces become a liability for backdrafting concerns (passivehouse tight). Piping a pressurized fossil fuel into a home and attempting to capture and vent the combustion exhaust is much riskier than relying on a DV fireplace in a power outage. I bet more people have died from house fires caused by gas fireplaces than saved by the heat in an outage.

As for useful heat, don't expect a heating appliance out of most DV units. They are likely to lose more energy because the firebox units are not very airtight from the manufacturer and installation penetrations are often worse, even from the contracted crews of fireplace stores that make a living on selling them. DV fireplaces often interrupt insulation continuity and introduce air leakage points in the building envelope that leak heated air in the winter and AC in the summer.

Check out this Dimplex electric fireplace which can even simulate smoke. No penetrations in the building envelope and zero chance of backdrafting combustion exhaust in efficient homes.

In one build, the three dv gas fireplaces kept the house comfortably above freezing for my drywall crew. Manual igniter.

(Not everyone lives south of the Mason-Dixon line.)

DV fireplaces often interrupt insulation continuity and introduce air leakage points in the building envelope that leak heated air in the winter and AC in the summer.

Absolutely true, unless that has changed in the last few years.

Fireplaces are anachronistic throwbacks that the market demands. For now.

Our direct vent fireplace has a battery pack that allows it to operate during a power outage. When operating in this mode, it relies on natural convection instead of on a fan. So, it'll be less efficient, but it will do the job.

Also, even though we bought the smallest model that we could find, it produces an amazing amount of heat. It is on a thermostat and often only turns on briefly and then turns itself off again. If I configure it to run continuously, it gets the room insanely hot.

We are very happy overall. It is a nice decorative element. It effectively provides another heating zone on its own thermostat. And yes, in principle if protects is in case of power outages; although that isn't really my main worry here.

We have a gas stove not a fireplace, so no fans, no batteries.

I had a direct vent gas fireplace in my last home and loved it -- used it every day October thru April. It quickly warmed the great room where we spent most of our time and cut way down on furnace use. It's so nice to flip a switch and voila! -- a fire! And just as easy at the end of the day when heading off to bed. I lived in that house for ten years and never needed any repairs or maintenance. A great invention!