We had one gas insert installed a few weeks ago here in North Carolina, and it cost over $4K, including installation, gas plumbing and electric work. I don't know what requirements are in the Bay Area, but here we needed a special chimney cap installed, which raised the price some, but not that much. So it seems to me that $6K for 2 inserts is good, maybe even too good to be true. I would question closely about the details: Who will do the installations. How many workers will come to do it? In our case, only one (Yes, One) guy did the whole thing by himself. I thought that was stretching things a little bit, considering that when we had some light fixtures installed 2 guys showed up. The installation took more than a whole day, and it involved this sole worker climbing a ladder to the top of the chimney carrying a heavy load. Not so good. Another thing, make sure you have a really good idea what the inserts will look like when they're in. They should not look like a retrofit. They should look like they were there from Day 1. The installation involves putting a firebox into an existing firebox. To do that they have to remove some of the visible decorative stuff that's now in the front of your fireplace and expose some ugly stuff from behind it. And then they need to put in new decorative stuff that fits (or should fit) seamlessly into your fireplace. We have a problem with ours that's still not resolved. The insert looks absolutely perfect the way it blends with the existing fireplace on the right, left, and above. However, the old firebox of our original prefab unit is raised nearly 6" above the hearth because that's where the air intake from the old blower (which we never used because they were so noisy) is located. The manufacturer of our insert (Jotul) does not supply the decorative stuff (black cast iron) to cover those old blower openings. That problem should have been identified and a means to manage it proposed BEFORE I agreed to the installation and signed on the dotted line. (Or maybe they knew but decided not to tell me.) I have now been cooling my heels for over 6 weeks waiting for the dealer to complete the installation, and I do not know whether the black iron cover he has custom ordered will look right. Ihave tried to reach the manufacturer in Maine for help in this matter. Their recorded message says they give priority to calls from their contractors and cannot promise to return retail calls, and never returned my calls. It's this kind of sloppy stuff that you have to look out for at the outset so you can head it off. I would check to see if the manufacturers of the inserts you want to install have a robust customer service capability. I think that's important. Jotul has a terrific reputation for their first quality products, but this shortcoming would prompt me to tell people to look somewhere else. Aside from the grief this issue has caused me, we are very, very pleased with the insert. It works well and has been a source of warmth and comfort on cold evenings and early mornings. If you lived around here, I would steer you away from my installer. Finally, I would ask for references, call them up, and ask to see examples of the work your contractor has done. Good luck.

I purchased a used Quadrafire Castile pellet stove for the basement. I have a high efficiency heat pump and strips but wanted something for back up that would run off of a small generator if we have an extended power outage. I purchased 2 tons of pellets last winter and when the temps were below 30 or if we were in the basement we ran it on low which is around 1lb or 7500btu/hr. I would turn it to medium when was below 20 and ran it on high when it was in the teens or below and the heat pump was locked out which is 8lbs per hour. The warm floor made the house feel more comfortable which allowed the stat to be a little coolder. It is not hastle free by NO means. It requires regular cleaning and maintenance and the pellets can be a pain for some to deal with. I enjoy going down stairs and sitting in front of it after being outside and freezing all day. I grew up with heat from a wood furnace once you get used to that warmth a heat pump or even heat strips doesn't compare when it is in the teens outside. If the cleaning and maintenance is not kept up then the efficiency will head toward the toilet. There are some models that can go a week or more with no problem and others that need the ashes dumped daily. It isn't horrible by any means but it is not just a pour in the fuel and forget it device. The ability to have a heat source that will operate on stored fuel and less electrical power than a 200 watt light bulb it is pretty hard to beat.

"alphonse - how big of a house? Maybe I can go with a good heat pump knowing that I should/will insulate later with some type of blow-in when redoing the siding? I haven't looked at a LP tank, but aren't these usually situated outside? If so, I bet the HOA would love that =]" 2500 sq.ft. I'd venture that insulating/ quality glazing always has paybacks and should be a priority whatever system you go with. Being in a rural area far from any NG distribution, many people here opt for propane with a typical tank size of 500-1K gals. The tanks are often buried, but not all jurisdictions allow that. Pricing is better at such volume. Fuel oil prices fluctuate so widely that cost comparison isn't cut& dried. LP serves as fuel for DHW, cooking, and for the Amish, refrigeration and lighting. "I'm also going to look in geothermal and maybe get someone out here for a quote. I have the yard space for it and a well in the front yard (for watering the lawn). Maybe the combination of two would meet my heating needs." As noted upthread, up front costs for geo are pretty high but given your situation absolutely worth looking into. A savvy contractor would prevent glitches that can occur with water pump/demand issues...factor in that such systems can provide all DHW, "free".

I got a Dimplex Revillusion and love it. My condos do not have gas, so the choices are limited. Although it is a wood burning fireplace, I do not want to fool with wood and ashes. The Revillusion satisfies my need for something that looks like a fire. I can use it year round too! It has LED lights projected onto a Plexiglas shield. You can sometimes see reflections on the Plexiglas if there's a lot of light in the room, but most of the time (especially at night), it is invisible. For sound effects you can download a fireplace sound effects app on an old cell phone and put it in the fireplace. Then you can buy candles or wax melts that smell like a campfire. It's just like the real thing. Hahahaha! Here's a video of the logs at night with the glass doors open and the mesh curtain closed. I'm scrolling through the different lighting options. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR8mKa5CMLI