Regency Gas Fireplaces User Manual
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Fall/Winter
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FEATURES
a natural fit
The Heat Is On!
Discover how the right gas-fired heating equipment can keep
In Every Issue
03 a natural fit
Learn how high-efficiency heaters and boilers
can translate into big savings.
04 natural choices
Want to reduce your utility bills? Find out how
radiant floor heaters, snow-melt systems and
blue-flame space heaters can help. Plus, what
you should know about water heaters and
backup generators.
07 naturally better
Learn how desiccants can improve air quality
and help your family breath easier.
16 naturally good
Try these surprisingly simple recipes for
great-tasting food cooked over natural gas.
08 From the Hearth
Find out how natural gas fireplaces,
stoves and logsets can add warmth and
comfort to your home.
12 Now You’re Cooking!
Discover the benefits of cooking with
natural gas — and see some of the latest
ranges from a variety of manufacturers.
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Solutions Center, published in cooperation with PRISM Media Group.
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temperatures higher and translate into big savings.
ant to turn this winter into a cozy, lower-cost
season for your family? Installing a high-efficiency or condensing natural gas furnace can
W
“Condensing units have been around more than 10 years, and
each year they take a bigger share of the market,” says Glenn Pottberg, national sales manager at ThermoProducts, a manufacturer
of high-efficiency furnaces. “Whether they’re replacing old units or
installing new, more homeowners want higher-efficiency models.”
The term furnace is used to describe a whole-house heating
system that heats a space. A heater, on the other hand, heats a
room or specific area by burning natural gas or propane; a flame
heats the air, which then heats the room. Boilers, on the
other hand, heat water, not air, then circulate that hot water
through plastic tubing, baseboards or radiators (see “Boiler
Basics,” at right).
Most whole-house heating systems are gas-fired and
can be divided into two classes: mid-efficiency and highefficiency. Mid-efficiency models are about 82 percent
efficient; that is, of 100 BTUs (British Thermal Units, a measure of heat), 82 end up being usable heat. High-efficiency
or condensing units include those with more than 90 percent efficiency, so for those same 100 BTUs, 90 are used
and only 10 are lost. Given those kinds of numbers, the
savings difference can be significant.
The Consortium for Energy Efficiency — a nonprofit
organization that promotes the manufacture and purchase
of energy-efficient products — estimates that homeowners can save up to 15 percent on energy bills with a qualifying furnace and 10 percent with a high-efficiency boiler,
when compared to standard-efficiency units.
“If a homeowner has a furnace that’s 15 or 20 years old,
it’s probably much less efficient than even a mid-efficiency
model,” says Pottberg. “If they’ve got a 60 percent efficient
model and they replace it with a 90 percent efficient unit,
it’ll pay for itself in four or five years.”
help make it happen.
Determining Efficiency
The U.S. Department of Energy sets efficiency standards
— known as the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, or
AFUE — for all boilers and furnaces. The current minimum
AFUE is 78 percent. The AFUE rating can be found on the
yellow Energy Guide label on each piece of equipment.
The most efficient heating units are called condensing.
In mid-efficiency units, the gas is burned off via what’s called a
heat exchanger, which then moves it through ductwork and a
blower to heat your house. In high-efficiency units, gas goes
through not one but two heat exchangers, where the secondary
exchanger can extract even more heat from the gas it’s burning.
The reason these furnaces are called “condensing” units is because they’re so efficient that condensation forms inside the second
heat exchanger. The solution is an inside drain that moves the moisture safely away, usually outside the house. “The industry has been
able to get to 95 efficient percent with these, where years ago it
was only 78 to 80 percent,” Pottberg says. “Higher efficiency units
use less fuel and cost less to operate.”
Boiler Basics
Need closet space? New energy-efficient boilers are hot —
and much smaller.
Just as energy-efficiency has translated to heaters, there are more
choices for homeowners when it comes to boilers. Perhaps the
biggest development is the materials used. Most boilers are made
from cast iron; the most energy-efficient ones, however, are
constructed from cast aluminum,
which means a boost in energy efficiency from 87 percent with cast
iron to 90 percent with aluminum.
That might not seem like
much, but it will likely make a difference over years of energy bills
— and it looks cool too. Known as
“modulating/condensing,” or “mod/
con” products, these super boilers
not only take care of energy-efficient heat transfer, they’re also a lot
smaller, which means your boiler
isn’t taking up that closet you
wanted to use as hobby storage.
“You can do a lot more in a
smaller space with these,” says
Ken Niemi of Burnham Hydronics,
a manufacturer of several new
mod/con boiler products. “Beyond
energy efficiency, customers
are looking for smaller size
and aesthetics.”
The latest high-efficiency boilers
are sleeker and smaller than in
the past, meaning homeowners
don’t necessarily need utility
rooms to hide unsightly equip-
ment.
By Amy E. Lemen
Photo courtesy of Burnham.
02naturalLiving Fall- Winter
naturalLiving Fall- Winter 03
natural choices
Heating and Power
Options for Your Home
Want to reduce your utility bills? Find out how radiant
floor heaters, snow-melt systems, blue-flame space heaters,
water heaters and backup generators can help.
here’s an incredible variety of money-saving products to
choose from when it comes to home heating and power
options. Whether you’re looking for a whole-house
T
ous ice and snow, an efficient water heater or a system to ensure
your family has power in the event of a weather emergency, there
are many popular and energy-efficient options.
heating system, a convenient way to get rid of treacher-
By Amy E. Lemen
Radiant Floor Heating
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to feel warmth and comfort
throughout your home without air blowing into the room —
or without looking at an unsightly radiator? Homeowners are
discovering how radiant floor-heating systems — which are
all but invisible — can maintain constant temperatures from
“Radiant floor heating is a different heating philosophy. You’re not trying to
heat the room like in a typical forced air system, but the things in it, so it’s
a much more efficient use of energy.”
room to room, even upstairs.
“As radiant flooring gets less expensive and there are more
options and styles, it’s really exploding in popularity, even
in places like Texas and Florida,” says Dan Chiles from Watts
Radiant in Springfield, Mo. “It’s a dash of color. We encourage
people to see it with a designer’s
eye, because it’s getting so much
more sophisticated.”
It’s also a more efficient way to
Instead of using
forced air, radiant
floors heat objects
in the room, spread-
ing warmth through-
out and adding a
designer touch with
a splash of red color.
Snow melt systems
use the same technol-
ogy to melt ice off
driveways and other
slippery surfaces.
Photo courtesy
of Watts Radiant.
heat an area, or even an entire home.
Gas-powered radiant systems consist
of tubes installed under a slab, or if
you’re replacing existing flooring,
under the floor. A small circulator,
acting as a pump, pushes heated
water through the tubes, essentially
heating objects in the area and making them warm to the touch. The result is that when you sit down on that
normally cold-as-ice-in-winter leather
couch to watch a football game, it’s
actually warm.
“It’s a whole different heating philosophy,” says Chiles. “You’re not trying
to heat the room like in a typical forced
air system, but the things in it, so it’s a
much more efficient use of energy.”
Snow Melt
The same radiant technology used to heat floors is also
used outside — in snow-melt systems that are essential to
getting around on those mornings when overnight ice and
snow make long driveways treacherous.
“It takes about 30 BTUs per square foot, per hour, to
heat the inside of a home,” says Chiles. “Outside, you need
300 BTUs per square foot, per hour. In urban and remote
areas, it’s about safety, and it has definitely become a
growth industry, especially with Baby Boomers.”
Snow-melt systems can be installed underneath drive-
Blue-Flame Space Heaters
Blue-flame space heaters are just what the name
suggests: space heaters that give off a sapphire-blue flame,
which heats the air around people and objects for
atmospheric warmth.
Most have controls on the unit that are simple to operate: Just push a button to ignite the pilot light (no matches
needed), and the heater begins to instantly warm the room
or area. They’re a good option when it doesn’t make sense
to crank up a whole house heating system, or to add a little extra heating oomph to a room that doesn’t get quite as
warm as the rest of the house.
Most of the new blue-flame space heaters are vent-free,
working much like a central heating system. Because
they’re ventless, each unit is required to include an oxygendepletion sensor (ODS) that shuts the unit off if there isn’t
enough fresh air to avoid the danger of carbon monoxide
poisoning. According to the Vent-Free Gas Products Alliance, all U.S. gas code groups and 49 states, as well as
British Columbia, Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan,
allow the sale and installation of vent-free appliances.
“Homeowners throughout the United States are discov-
The snow-melt system
underneath this driveway
uses natural gas to heat a
water/Glycol or antifreeze
mix, which is then pushed
through tubing under-
neath the driveway, easily
melting away snow and
ice.
Photo courtesy
of Watts Radiant.
ways, sidewalks, patios, carports and more—basically anywhere there’s a concrete slab. Like radiant floors, they use
hydronic (water) heating systems, melting ice and snow by
circulating a gas-heated solution (usually antifreeze and
water) through tubing underneath. It’s about safety, to be
sure, but it’s also about aesthetics for homeowners whose
driveways are decorative or stamped concrete.
“You can’t get ice out from between those cracks, and
you can’t shovel it,” says Chiles. “A snow melt system gets
rid of ice safely, without the risk of cracking the surface.”
Most new blue-flame
space heaters are
vent-free and feature
sensors that shut
off the unit if there
isn’t enough fresh
air, thus preventing
the risk of carbon
monoxide poisoning.
ering that vent-free gas appliances are a smart and economical answer for safe supplemental heating,” says Sue
Walker, chairman of the Vent-Free Gas Products
Alliance. “Manufacturers are investing more than ever in
cutting-edge designs and technological breakthroughs that
are exceeding consumer expectations.”
Finally, keep in mind that older gas-fired space heaters
may not have the ODS mechanism, so before you settle in
for a chilly winter, be sure you have a newer model.
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