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Fuzzyphilosopher t1_j2ccu46 wrote

Reply to comment by Drew- in ELI5: why gas fireplaces have long orange flames while gas stoves have very short blue flames. by brownlawn

> For a fireplace you want pretty long yellow fire,

I get that many or most people want just the appearance of a fire. I'm on the side of wanting heat. But I also love the smell of a real wood fire and the crackling and popping, which is most likely way less efficient than you could get with the proper mixture from a gas one.

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DragonFireCK t1_j2cokc2 wrote

A fireplace is heavily a décor element, and thus intended to look pretty, even at the expense of efficiency. Some gas and electric ones will even have speakers built-in to provide the sound of burning wood. Typically, you can adjust the mixture in a gas fireplace to be more efficient, though doing so will sacrifice much of the décor element.

You can also get gas space heaters, which are intended to produce heat without looking pretty, and will generally be adjusted for a high efficiency burn.

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