Here's my understanding. As of Jan 1st Kalifornia goes to Tier Three and all engines sold there with a production date of Jan 1st and on must meet the new regs. EPA is pushing to bring the remaining 49 states in line one year later. From what I've heard from others who have already attended Honda's engine updates, CAT's are not required to meet Tier three but is how most manufactures intend to come to the new standards. From this is appears Honda has no need to install CAT's to do so. They can meet the new regs without them.

That's great news. I stopped roasting about ten years ago when my wife was expecting our first child. The smell of smoke throughout the house and all day morning sickness were a bad mix. I never got into it, mostly because of the improved quality and freshness of coffee that is now available, but nothing is as good as the stuff I made myself. I've been curious about the efficiency of the Behmore catalytic converter. I now have a decent kitchen exhaust fan so that will definitely help, but I'm curious how well you find the smoke is eliminated. In the old days the whole house would smell for at least a day.

Since your fireplace is not against an outside wall, that does pose complications. A direct vent fireplace would be complicated and costly to install. But you might consider a direct vent gas stove, either cast iron or soapstone. These are free-standing units that have to be some distance from combustible surfaces (the wall behind and on either side of the stove), and they have to stand on a noncombustible surface such as brick, tile, or slate. There would be a chimney that goes up from the rear of the stove to the ceiling, through the ceiling, and continuing on through the roof to the outside. If yours is a 2-story house, the cost would of course be higher than if it is a on-story house, and you'd have to figure out where the chimney would occupy space in your upper floor(s), peferrably in a closet where it would not be seen. A friend of mine had such a system in their 2-story house, but it was planned before construction, whereas yours would be retrofitted. All of this sounds complicated and expensive, and probably is, which is probably why the previous owner put in ventless. Although electric would not give you the kind of performance you get from gas, I would not dismiss it. Some electric units are pretty good. Just stay away from gas ventless.

4Kids, Full disclosure, I have a gas fireplace insert that behaves like a stove. I am currently roasting in front of it:-) I love being able to use a remote to start my gas fireplace. Having said that, my home already has a gas water heater and a gas wok burner. If I were an all electric house, I would have gotten a wood burning stove insert. The newer wood stoves with catalytic converters are fairly easy to start and use very little wood at a time. They also minimize air leakage into the house. In my area, if you don't have a gas line already, it is cost prohibitive to get one. I had a friend who built in a neighborhood that did not have it. The cost was north of $5k (US dollars). I personally don't love propane and the power reduction in the appliances when using propane is a concern. I also have an induction cooktop. Knowing what I know now, I would have readily bought the induction wok burner and skipped gas. I live in a snow area and any time the wind blows, we lose power. I have a small generator that will not run the induction cooktop but I have a grill outside and can use a camp stove when needed. The gas wok burner is a fail safe when the power is out. For the cost to bring in both propane and gas lines, if one is not existing, I would spend the money on a fabulous wood fireplace:-) I want to be clear because I often get confused by fireplaces. I am referring to fireplaces that act as heat sources, not just something that is pretty to look at but actually can heat a room or several rooms. They function like stoves and can be used with ducting to heat other rooms. I have the Mendota FV44 I would have loved to have the Morso Wood burning fireplace insert. This is a youtube video to give you an idea of how they operate. If money were no object, I would get a Phenix Green. Good luck!