Lots of people think about installing a fireplace in their house. However, when they start investigating what’s involved in doing so, they quickly become overwhelmed. They realize that they’ll need to tear down walls and cut a hole in the roof for the chimney. There is also a lot of maintenance required for a wood burning fireplace.

But now there’s a simpler approach to installing a fireplace in your home. It’s known as a gel fireplace, and for many people it’s the ideal answer.

More and more people are opting for this contemporary type of fireplace, and there are some good reasons why. There’s no odor, soot, smoke, or fumes, which means almost no clean-up. Stockpiling wood and cleaning up soot and ashes will be a thing of the past. No need for an extensive selection of fireplace tools and accessories. All you need to do in order to enjoy the warmth of a fire is to light up a can of fuel.

A gel fireplace is completely different from your conventional wood burning or electrical fireplace. They create a real fire by burning a gel that’s produced from grain alcohol. This product burns cleanly and produces a real flame with none of the usual mess. Typically, a gel fireplace holds three cans of fuel. Each container burns for about three hours or so. The gel even makes the crackling noise of a wood burning fire and there are scent sticks available you can add to your canisters.

A ventless gel fireplace requires no hookups, gas lines or construction. Once you get it home, it takes less than an hour to assemble and can be placed in any room of your home. You can even move it later on if your decor changes. You can even hang some models on the wall. Another alternative is to buy a special insert for your existing fireplace in which you can burn the gel canisters.

A gel fireplace emits no smoke or fumes. However, they do release a small amount of carbon monoxide into the air, although the amount is so minute that there is no cause for concern. These fireplaces must pass rigorous safety tests with regard to their output of this gas.

Maintenance of a gel fireplace is very simple. They are also the most energy efficient, cost effective heating units on the market. Because there is no flue, all the heat is projected into the room. Keep in mind, however, that they are not intended to be a major source of heat for your house, even though they do give off a warm glow.

A ventless gel fireplace can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to two thousand dollars for a high end product. But they’re well worth it for people with busy lives who just want to enjoy a real fire without a lot of trouble.