Comments, opinions, another brand I should be look at etc etc....

Thanks!

For more feedback, you might try Hearth.com. There is a section there where hearth owners post ratings/reviews of stoves, inserts, zero clearance fireplaces of all fuel types. There are a few reviews of KozyHeat there. And you may run into other brands for propane inserts to look into.

- Andre: I've been reading your posts on this issue for almost a year now and have provided many reponses. I'm not sure why I keep wasting my time. You're about to learn about heating costs the hard way. What is your payback time on purchasing a $3000 fireplace and burning expensive propane while trying to save electricity using a brand new high efficiency heat pump with low Northeast PA electric rates? 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? Do you even have a clue?

"Below 32 degress, I wonder if it will be cheaper than my heat pump?"

- You need to stop wondering, and start doing the math. I would do it for you, but you need to learn how do it yourself. How much is electricity in your area? How much is propane in your area? What is the heating value of electricity (3413 btus/kw-hr)? What is the heating value of propane (86,000 btus/gallon)? What is the efficiency of the propane fireplace? Efficiency of electric resistance heat (100%)? How do you compare costs for using propane versus the cost of using the heat pump versus the cost of back-up electric resistance heat based on efficiency and heating content of the various types of heat? Once you figure out the above questions, you'll have your answer, instead of wondering about it. Many a lesson is learned the hard way.

If you know the name of your propane company and it is one of the big nationals, there may be a link to the calculator from their website.

Without doing ALL the math (but some) and speaking with PPL and UGI and Propane Companies and some folks at a local insert shops I discovered that electricity WILL be cheaper to heat my home here in easter PA. Costs are going up 30% though over the next few years but even if propane stays the same price (it will likely go up as well), interestingly enough it looks like the electricity will still be cheaper!

The heat pump will provide a more uniform heat through the house---since the home was designed for it. There is no guarantee of that with the insert.

Natural gas would be less than propane and if I had it in my area I still might opt for the extra expense to have warmer heat...if you know what I mean.

Anyway, I am back to square one. To heck with the heat issue---looks like we are using our heat pump. STILL, my wife wants a nice little 'stink free' fire to look at a couple of hours a night. Whats it going to cost me? The price I pay will be in addition to my electric bill. A gas log sets gets the job done in the 'pretty fire to look at dept'. Will an insert pay for itself over time though buy using less gas (allbeit a higher initial cost)? If I am understanding things.....probably not--if I use it only a couple of hours a night! I posted this in the Heating and cooling arena....here is my perpective, perhaps it is still flawed.

Lets see if I now have the propper perspective on this. My wife wanted to install a gas log set in our fireplace for an occasional (5 - 15 hours a week?) fire to look at and enjoy, not necesarily for heat. Note we have a heat pump for that as well as an electric bill to go with it and I was not looking for an additional substantial propane bill each month. We went to look at log sets and also saw inserts which are suppose to be much more efficient. The $$$$ in my head went of thinking that if the inserts are
way more effiecient, then the cost of gas savings with the insert compared to log set might actually pay for the insert over time. Plus we'd get some extra heat out of the deal. If I could figure out how long the payback would be I
could decide if the insert or log set was the way to go. If I could figure put what my monthly cost would be I could also determine if we could afford either!

I quickly assertained that a 24 inch gas log set, running on HIGH, would likely consume about a gallon an hour or about $3 and hour here in eastern PA. 15 hours a week would cost us about $180 a month. Whooooooaaaaa! Thats way to much for a pretty fire. So I tried to figure out how much gas the insert would use for the same period of time, 15 hours a week, a few hours a night. I was told it would consume about the same amount of gas if used in that manner. I was puzzled. I thought they were so much more efficient....?

It was explained that the efficiency comes with the heat the unit gives off. If I wanted my room at 70 degress, it is likley the gas log set might run 3 hours to get it there consuming 3 gallons. The insert might have the job done
in an hour thus saving 2 gallons of propane. Thats not exactly the way I was hoping the efficiency would work. I was hoping the insert would actually allow us to have the same fire but instead, use that one gallon of gas over a
3 hour period. If the first assumption is indeed correct then I am getting the feeling that the only way to make this anywhere near cost effective is if I start to use the insert as my primary heat source, running it all the time
(12+ hours a day). Doing so should eventually allow the heat to permiate thru the house, my heat pump should go off and I should now start to see a reduction in my electric bill offsetting my new propane bill...if lucky it would be a dollar for dollar match against the cost of propane. Does this sound right? However, if I simply run the insert just 2 hours a day, it will never warm the whole house so the heat pump will continue to run and I end up with essentially an electric bill for heat and a propane bill for a pretty fire?

Do I have all this right or am I way off on my calculations regarding the cost of using these things a few hours a night?