What is a balanced flue gas fire?
Balanced flue gas fires draw air through a flue installed in an exterior-facing wall. The same flue is also used to expel spent gases from the fire. This means balanced flue fires are entirely sealed heating systems that can be fitted anywhere, with no need for a chimney. (All that’s required is an outside wall!) These fires are therefore extremely versatile, much more so than traditional gas fires.
Sometimes known as ‘closed combustion’ gas appliances because they contain combustion within a closed system, balanced flue gas fires are always glass-fronted units. This arrangement not only warms the room more economically (air and gas circulate behind heat-resistant glass with maximum efficiency and no excess heat loss), it also offers a wider choice of styles and sizes for your fire.
A balanced flue gas fire can be almost twice as energy-efficient as a more traditional gas fire. Typical comparative figures are
- Open gas fire: 40% - 50% avg. energy efficiency
- Balanced flue gas fire: up to 85% avg. energy efficiency
At Nexus, you’ll find contemporary balanced flue fires in portrait and landscape styles, corner fires and see-through designer fires as well as traditional inset units and even freestanding gas stoves. Many offer a choice of decorative fuel beds (stones, pebbles, ceramic coals or logs). Visit our showroom to see a full range of these fires by popular leading brands including Dru, Element 4, Valor, Gazco and Flavel.
Stylish, versatile and very energy-efficient, a balanced flue gas fire is an excellent heating choice. Visit our showroom or call 0116 274 4057 to find one that’s right for your home.
If I have a chimney, can I install a balanced flue gas fire?
Balanced flue gas fires are usually installed in rooms where no chimney is available. But they can be easily fitted in a location with a chimney as well. The fire’s concentric flue is mounted on the top surface, extending up and then connecting at a right-angle (90°) to run horizontally through the wall to the outside.
If you have an existing chimney, the fire’s upright flue can be concealed within it. A new opening will be made in the outside wall behind the chimney, typically positioned about a metre above the fire. The flue can then be connected through the new opening to the outside world, exactly as it would be in a room without a chimney.