When the house is a bit chilly, is it more efficient to raise the temp or sit by the gas fire?

Neither, put two more layers on.

Heated air goes up the chimney with a fire, and raising the temp just plain costs more.

That wasn’t particularly helpful.

Gas fire, I would think.
You would feel the difference in temperature almost instantaneous (you might close it soon after?), where as with raising the temperature (is take it we’re talking central heating here?) it will take longer for you to sense it (all the while using up more energy).

It depends on a few factors, like is the whole house gas, do you have rooms shut off (meaning you’d heat the whole house), how much is gas in your area, how well sealed is your home, etc…

My answer would be sit by the fire with the info you gave.

In our family, ‘a bit chilly’ means you put on another layer like @Tropical_Willie said. My heat in the bedroom hasn’t even been turned on yet, it was 38 here last night. My duvet and dogs keep me toasty.

Sitting by the fire, but that assumes that you have a comfortable place to sit by the fire.

Another issue: heat from the fire is not adjustable in any real sense. So you may overheat. Heat from the furnace can easily be turned on and off.

FInally, heat and the fire take humidity out of the air (and up the chimney). My furnace and heat exchanger let me control the humidity in the house in addition to the temp.

And lack of humidity leads to chapped lips, itchy skin, and so on.

So it isn’t that simple of a question.

If my apartment gets too cold on rare minus 40 in the winters here I have to turn on the stove oven and leave the oven door open until it heats up the living room, then I turn it off which is usually one or two hours later,
As for humidity I have a bowl full of water nearby to add hydration…also lots of liquids to drink.

Put on a sweater or a sweat shirt and (another) pair of socks. Myself, I would turn the heat up because I can’t say where I’ll be in the house at any given moment. (My house is VERY well insulated ,and very small, so a little heat from my gas furnace goes a long way.)

I do realize I can dress more warmly and do. That wasn’t really what the question was about but I take your point about the moving around the house.

I’m waiting for LuckyGuy to get me hot with his BTUs!

Are you outside cold or inside cold? Does the cold feel like it’s coming from the outside? Or is the cold feel like it’s coming from your bones?

Outside cold, I’d sit by the gas fire. You can shut it off as soon as you’re warmed up.

Inside cold, I’d wash my hands and feet in really warm water. And drink something hot.

Or buy one of these and FaceTime with @tinyfaery

@raum Inside cold. It’s just damp and raw today but not really cold enough in the house for the heat to kick in. I’ve finished my office work for now so I am going to sit by the fire with a Jane Austen novel and warm up for a bit.

As far as the squirrel costume goes, it would scare the shit out of all the little squirrels that are so busy around the house right now. One climbed up my slider screen the other day, looked at me and the scurried back down. Fun!

I would think if you need a temporary blast of heat to warn you up and you can sit right in front of the fire that will be the most economical, but if you are attempting to heat up the entire room, then maybe not. I’ll be curious to see LuckyGuy’s answer; I assume you sent the Q to him.

If you can afford it, just turn your heat up. I personally am sick and tired of being cold in my home where I should be comfortable. I’m done with that. I do close off areas if I’m in a big house with two heating zones, or use a space heater for temporary warmth, similar to a fireplace, if I can close off the room, like my bedroom before going to sleep. I do those things to save energy, but otherwise, I’m spending the $50 to be warm. Just 2 degrees can make a huge difference.

Taken as a given that the home is well insulated & therefore fuel economic, the heating system is best as it regulates gradually around you, envelopes you in a steady, comforting warmth.

Plonking in front of a gas fire is no more than a quick fix, a blast of hot air which quickly becomes uncomfortable giving you little satisfaction.

Bit like sex really, slow & steady wins the race :D

@ucme What have you done with the old ucme? That’s three GAs this week!

I love the gas fire idea, with tea and a book, and a couple of bears (check their teacups, they sneak whiskey in whenever possible) and then I agree with @JLeslie, just warm up the house! You can be careful later when you’re all healed up.

@janbb Hush your mouth little penguin you know you lurve me long time

^^ My secret is out.

^^ Now now, keep it civil

Heated air goes up the chimney with a fire

Probably, but “vent-free” gas fireplaces are not uncommon. It’s basically an attractive space heater built into the wall. I think mostly they’re used in new construction/renovations where placing the fireplace anywhere, not just near a chimney, is a big advantage.

Regarding the question – it would take a lot of measurements/variables to answer.
What size area is the furnace heating?
What is the efficiency of the fireplace (how much heat goes into the room compared to going outside)?
What is the efficiency of the furnace? (New ones are A LOT better than old ones)
What is the room temperature?
Does heat from the fireplace reach the thermostat (and thus reduce furnace usage)?

By the way, I can’t get too close to the fire while facing it. I already have dry eye problems. The fire just makes it worse.

A gas fire loses much more heat up the chimney than a wood fire. The radiant heat comes mostly from the embers rather than the flame. A grate that blows air through it would make it much more efficient but just a gas fire loses most of the heat up the chimney. I’d just raise the thermostat.

I’m here!

Sitting by the gas fire is the better option, IF the fireplace is one of the newer, efficient styles that vent into the house.
An old style fireplace with an open flue and an inexpensive gas fired insert will draw heated air out of the house and be horribly inefficient. They can be in the 10% efficiency range. Horrible. But they do look nice.

It is an old style – newly installed but in an old fireplace. The truth is it was a somewhat idle question beca sometimes I just want the coziness of sitting by the fire. At other times when I’m moving around the house, I’ll turn the thermostat up if need be. I don’t leave the fire going when I’m away from it.

@janbb That’s exactly how you should be using it. You are not going to spend a lot of money redoing the whole system. It’s not worth it. Just enjoy!

Stay warm!

@Call_Me_Jay I did check the thermostat which is in a nearby room now after having the fire on for about an hour. It is set to 65 but the thermometer read 70 so it does lift the temp some.

@LuckyGuy Thanks! I had it put in last year and I do love it. (And actually I just had to have a new furnace put in so that should be more efficient than the old one.)

Sitting by a gas fire, especially if you have a fan inside the fireplace.

I love cool and cold weather and if sitting by the fire and still cool, I would grab a throw.

[Mod says] Moved to Social on request.