After touring a lot of different houses, one of the main selling points of the one we ultimately chose was the wood-burning fireplace in the living room. The fireplace is a focal point. It’s built out of fieldstones, with a hardwood mantle and hearth. Living in an area with especially long and cold winters, we were excited by the idea of burning wood for heat. We saw it as an opportunity to save money and create ambience. We imagined sitting in front of the fire, sipping hot chocolate. We didn’t anticipate the amount of work involved with cutting and hauling wood. We made a fire one time and decided never again. It was extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming. Dragging logs through the house caused a considerable amount of mess. Then we struggled to get the fire going and dealt with smoke, odors and ash. For the past five years, the fireplace has been nothing more than a decoration. When an HVAC contractor provided service for our furnace, he suggested switching the fireplace over to a gas heater. He said that the process is not overly involved or expensive. We’d be able to keep the beauty of our fireplace and look of actual fire but gain the benefits of a modern heater. It would start up with a touch of a button on a cordless remote and allow us to adjust temperature to our liking. A built-in fan would disperse the heat evenly throughout the room. Gas fireplace heaters are energy efficient, quiet, clean and safe to operate. I am looking forward to making this upgrade.