Direct Vent or Ventless?

Empire Fireplaces come in two main types, Direct-Vent and Vent-Free. Direct Vent Fireplaces Require a built-in vent to intake outside air while Ventless uses the air inside your home. Below We'll go over which types is right for your home!

Ventless Fireplaces

A Vent-Free system uses room air for combustion and delivers 99.9% of the available heat energy directly to the room. Vent-Free systems have an unmatched safety record, thanks in part to their clean-burning technology and their Oxygen Depletion Sensor, which instantly shuts off the valve if oxygen in the room drops to and unsafe level. Because no venting is required, Vent-Free systems offer more installation options.

Vent-Free systems are limited to 40,000 Btu and must be operated as supplemental heating sources in conjunction with a central furnace that circulates air.

Advantages:

• Unmatched efficiency – 99.9%
• Offers the most installation versatility
• Usually less expensive to buy and to install
• Can operate with a remote or thermostat
• Most systems can provide live-saving heat during a winter power outage
• Choose fireplace, insert, heater, cast iron stove, burner and log set, or contemporary burner

Direct-Vent Fireplaces

A Direct-Vent system uses two vent pipes. One draws air in from the outdoors to support combustion. The other exhausts the by-products of combustion to the outside. The two vent pipes may be concentric (exhaust pipe within a larger diameter intake pipe) or co-linear (separate pipes of about the same size).

Combustion takes place inside a sealed chamber – with a glass front in the case of a fireplace. Room air circulates around the combustion chamber, often assisted by a blower, to heat the room.

A DV system is often installed along an outside wall to simplify the vent run, but can also be installed elsewhere in the home and vented through the roof.

Advantages:

• Good efficiency – 60 to 80%
• Good heat output with thermal transfer through the glass and air circulation
• Separates room air from combustion air
• May be used as primary heat source
• Can operate with a remote or thermostat
• Most systems can provide life-saving heat during a winter power outage
• Choose fireplace, insert, cast iron stove, or heater

Ignition System Controls

Millivolt Ignition (Standing Pilot)

A standard millivolt system is always running, even when the fireplace is off. This is called a standing pilot light, and it ensures that whenever you are ready to turn the fireplace on and enjoy some flames, your pilot light can light the main burner. The entire millivolt system requires no external power source, and it all relies on the pilot light running.

Pros and Cons Of A Millitvolt System:

• The system has been in circulation with fireplaces, furnaces, and hot water heaters for 50-plus years. Most installers and technicians are familiar with it. Should anything fail, it is very easy to diagnose.
• All appliances using a millivolt gas ignition system can use an on/off switch or remote control. This allows you to use the appliance with a flip of a switch or from your recliner.
• The safety it provides gives you piece of mind knowing that, in the rare occurrence there is a failure, the unit will mechanically shut down.
• The main disadvantage is that this system uses more energy than an intermittent pilot. Since the pilot light stays on 24/7 barring an issue, it burns fuel even when the heater isn't in use, adding unnecessary charges to your utility bill in the warmer months.

Electronic Ignition (Intermittent Pilot)

An intermittent pilot system requires electricity to operate whether in the form of 120VAC power or batteries. Intermittent pilot ignition systems feature a control module/board to carry out the ignition system. Once the switch or remote is used, the ignition sequence begins.

First, the igniter will begin to spark and electricity is sent to the pilot side of the valve to energize the electromagnetic device to open up the pilot gas. When you have spark, fuel, and oxygen, the pilot will light. As soon as the pilot is lit, the pilot flame engulfs a sensor which sends a signal back to the unit's control module to shut off the igniter and send electricity to the burner side of the valve. This opens the valve up and allows the pilot light to ignite the main burner flame.

Pros and Cons Of An Intermittent Pilot System:

• Without a standing pilot light, you are not wasting fuel when not using the fireplace.
• Most intermittent pilot systems have a battery back-up feature that can operate the system for several months or more. This allows the unit to be used in a power outage.
• An experienced tech will be needed on-site should the unit not work properly. Repairs are often more time-consuming and costly as a result.
• If the pilot sensor does not sense the pilot light, the system will not work and no unwanted gas will pass through the system, preventing gas build-up in the home.