A lot of people have a fireplace in their house. A friend of mine, Annie, has a pair of fireplaces in her house. She has a traditional wood burning fireplace in the kitchen and a gas gas heater that looks like a real fire in the living room. I also have a fireplace installed in my kitchen. I really appreciate the aesthetics of a fireplace, especially during the Christmas holidays. There is just something charming about a fire on a chilly night. However, without some major upgrades, you really should not plan to use the fireplace as a replacement for a gas furnace to heat the whole house. Since I live in the south, I only use my fireplace to set a festive mood. It is not needed as a heater. I have central heating plus cooling installed in the house. I only start up the gas furnace on rare occasions. For the majority of the year, we enjoy sunny skies and hot and humid days. Sometimes, for maybe a month or so, we’ll get some milder weather. I don’t rely on the gas furnace all that much because the heated air dries out my sinuses and can damage the antiques and woodwork in the house. The lack of necessary humidity is just uncomfortable. But even so, if I tried to simply use the fireplace, I worry my pipes might freeze! I am also concerned about having a fire when my family is asleep. I realize that most fireplaces feature effective screens or doors, but I still worry about the potential danger if I don’t carefully tend the fire. I have heard that my local HVAC contractor can install a fireplace insert that would serve as a natural gas heater. This might be a perfect solution because I really enjoy the flames, but don’t want to deal with the work, mess or safety risk of a wood burning fireplace.