How to choose the right heater by Abbey Fireplaces

SIZE! It does matter. While you don't want to freeze on the one hand, on the other you don't want to blow yourself out of the room, so choosing the right sized firebox is part of the process. The ideal size is one that will run efficiently, that is about 80% output most of the time. If you have an enormous firebox in a small area, you will tend to have a smaller fire or choke the air so that you are not burning as cleanly or efficiently. Remember the more efficient the combustion process the less particulate emission is produced. In other words Efficient = Clean.
When choosing a heater to best suit your requirements, there are a few things to consider.

Firstly, if your house is an open plan and if it is practical to position the heater in a central spot, then you may want to consider a radiant unit. However, if you're in the majority and your house is the more typical style with rooms running off a hallway in a more segmented fashion then a convective unit will better serve your purpose.
Convective heaters are really just radiant heaters with an extra shell or skin around them.
Once you add another 'skin' the dynamics change so that air trapped between the outside of the firebox and the outer layer will heat up and expand forcing the air up and out in a directional manner.

This means that the back, sides and top of the heater are shielded and therefore the clearances to combustibles are greatly reduced.
If space is a problem and furnishings are close by then convective becomes the safer option.
In some houses that are especially segmented, it may be better to consider two smaller units instead of one large one for more comfortable, even heat or an air transfer unit to tackle the hard to heat spots.

Now, if you are looking for an inbuilt unit to make your open fireplace more attractive and efficient, these heaters are designed to perform convectively and all are fan forced. This means that correctly installed, the heat is delivered to where you want it and the efficiency is increased by about 70%.

For those who don't have an existing open fire and would like to achieve the same look at a fraction of the price, a zero clearance system will offer a good price incentive as well as endless design possibilities. For traditional to modern design ideas see our galleries section.

Zero clearance heaters have been around for a few years and are gaining in popularity so the range is expanding to provide a wide choice.
Lastly but not leastly is the double sided unit. If you let your imagination go, the possibilities are fantastic from heating two rooms, partially dividing one area or as a central focus point in a larger room. Every application is covered - but most important is the quality standard of the units we sell.
We want our customers to stay happy so choose any heater on these pages with the knowledge that it has passed our criteria and represents the best available. In the near future we will add a section to this page for gas heaters.