Is a wood-burning or gas fireplace cheaper to operate over a full Ottawa winter heating season?

Over a full Ottawa winter heating season, a gas fireplace is typically cheaper to operate than a wood-burning fireplace — but the difference is smaller than most people expect, and a wood-burning fireplace offers heating benefits that pure cost calculations don't fully capture.

Let's run the actual numbers for Ottawa. Natural gas in Ottawa currently costs approximately $0.14 to $0.18 per cubic metre, or roughly $1.40 to $1.80 per therm. A modern direct-vent gas fireplace produces about 25,000 to 35,000 BTU per hour and operates at 70 to 85 percent efficiency, meaning you actually use about 30,000 to 45,000 BTU of gas to deliver 25,000 BTU of usable heat. Running a gas fireplace 6 hours daily for 150 days (mid-October through early April) costs approximately $1,800 to $2,800 per season for fuel alone.

Wood costs $350 to $450 per cord delivered in Ottawa, and a modern EPA-certified wood stove burns 4 to 6 cords per season depending on how heavily you use it as supplemental heat. That's $1,400 to $2,700 in wood costs annually. However, wood heating requires significant labor — stacking, seasoning, hauling to the stove, and cleaning ash daily — which many homeowners don't factor into their calculations.

Here's where it gets interesting: the real operating cost advantage of gas becomes meaningful only if you compare it to an open masonry fireplace, which operates at just 30 to 40 percent efficiency (meaning 60 to 70 percent of the heat goes up the chimney). An open fireplace used casually for ambiance is pleasant and relatively inexpensive; used as a serious heat source, it's an expensive way to heat a room. A wood-burning insert or modern wood stove, by contrast, operates at 70 to 80 percent efficiency — rivalling gas for actual heating output while using a renewable fuel source that doesn't fluctuate with utility rates.

The real Ottawa consideration is this: if your fireplace or stove is your primary heating system, gas is somewhat cheaper to operate than wood. If it's supplemental heat for a room or two during the coldest months, the difference narrows significantly. A wood stove also acts as emergency backup heating during Ottawa ice storms and power outages — something a gas fireplace cannot do if your furnace loses power or if natural gas supply is interrupted. That resilience has genuine value on a January night when the grid fails.

Installation costs also factor into total cost of ownership. A new gas fireplace installation in Ottawa runs $3,500 to $7,500, while a complete wood stove setup with chimney costs $4,500 to $9,500. Over a 15-year lifespan, the installation cost amortizes to roughly $240 to $630 annually for gas, or $300 to $630 annually for wood. Once you include that, the total operating cost difference over a winter narrows to perhaps $400 to $800 per season in gas's favor — real money, but not transformative.

Important operating reality for Ottawa: Neither system is truly "cheap" compared to running your furnace on natural gas for whole-house heating. Both are better justified as a combination of supplemental heat, ambiance, and the genuine comfort of having a real fire during Ottawa's brutal winters than as a pure cost-saving measure. If you heat primarily with a furnace, adding either a gas fireplace or wood stove will increase your overall heating costs slightly, but it will give you the psychological and practical benefit of localized warmth, a focal point for the home, and in the case of wood, backup heat if other systems fail.

If cost is truly your only consideration, neither fireplace nor wood stove makes economic sense — they are most valuable to homeowners who value the experience of a fire, want supplemental zone heating for a particular room, or want backup heating resilience during power outages. Gas has a slight operating cost advantage and requires zero effort beyond turning it on. Wood requires work but offers fuel cost stability, renewable energy, and emergency backup capability.

If you're leaning toward one system over the other and want to discuss how it fits with your home's heating strategy and budget, the Ottawa Construction Network directory can connect you with fireplace and stove installers who can walk you through the specific costs and benefits for your space.

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Looking for experienced contractors? The Ottawa Construction Network connects Ottawa homeowners with qualified professionals:

• Justyn Rook Contracting
• JC Carpentry
• The Next Reno
• ARTEXPRO Tile & Finishes
• JMY Renovations