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TECHNOLOGY AND YOU

Realistic electric fireplaces - really

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Complete, realisitic-flame fireplaces install in minutes.

Q: Dear Jim: I want to add a fireplace to my living room, but my house is all electric and I don't want to hassle with wood. Will the new electric and the ones that use canned gelled-fuel provide efficient heating!

-John F.

A: Dear John: Those two types of complete fireplace kits are your best options for someone in your situation. You can be sitting in front of a fire, with either an electric or a gelled-fuel fireplace, 15 minutes after taking it out of the box and plugging it in. Installing a wood-burning fireplace would take days or weeks because you would have to add a chimney or flue and that's expensive.

The real flames from a gelled-fuel (renewable natural grape-alcohol base) model or the simulated flames from the new electric fireplaces are difficult to distinguish from a real wood fire. The mechanism in some of the electric fireplaces also creates a realistic log crackling sound. For people who already have an existing fireplace, an electric log kit can be purchased separately and installed in it.

Since electric fireplaces plug into a standard wall outlet, they are limited to 1,500 watts of heat as are most electric heaters. No heated air is drawn out of your house as with a standard fireplace, so they do not waste heat. The gelled-fuel fireplaces produce about 2,500 Btu of heat per hour and burn about four hours with a single 16-oz. can. A log set can burn just one or several cans simultaneously to vary the heat output and the appearance of the flames. If you choose to buy an entire fireplace kit, you will find the hand-finished real wood, marble, stone, etc., fireplace surrounds and mantels rival the best gas log fireplaces. Since high heat is not a factor, attractive bookcases and shelves can be built close to the opening.

A corner-style design is ideal for rooms with limited space and to project the heat throughout the room. Some of the electric logs themselves are real wood, not fake ceramic. Freestanding models, with a decorative, simulated cast iron appearance can be located away from the wall. They even have optional vertical stovepipes for realism.


James Dulley is a mechanical engineer who writes on a wide variety of energy and utility topics. His column appears in a large number of daily newspapers.

Copyright 2001 James Dulley

18    ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING NOVEMBER 2001


What makes electric fireplaces ideal is that you can use them year-round for the ambiance of a fire. The electronic controls and tiny motors used to create the realistic flames and sounds consume less than 200 watts. Using your electric fireplace (heat turned off) will barely increase the cooling load on your central air-conditioner.

Gelled-fuel fireplaces should only be used during the winter because burning the fuel during the summer adds both heat and humidity to the indoor air. Although the fumes from burning grape-based gelled alcohol with ample combustion air are not harmful, they do add greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide) to the environment.

As an engineer and former Star Wars toy designer for Kenner, I marvel at the simplicity of the methods used to produce the realistic-looking flames with electric logs. Many models allow you to adjust the appearance from relaxing, lazy, flickering flames to a raging fire. The heat output, when switched on, can be controlled independently of the flames' appearance.

One of the neatest designs is the Visiflame electric log. This design uses a smoked acrylic plastic movie-type screen located in the back of the fireplace behind the logs. Red and gold lights inside the logs create the appearance of embers and also reflect off foil ribbons onto the smoked movie-type screen. An adjustable tiny blower makes the ribbons dance to control the intensity of the flames.

Other designs simulate flames by using a combination of colored lights and rotating translucent disks to create the flickering flame image. Special screening creates a natural smoky appearance behind and above the electric logs. To simulate the realistic crackling sound of burning logs, a spinning foil drum hits against a unique sounding board.

The logs used in a gelled-fuel fireplace also look realistic. There is a special grate and burning chamber that holds the cans of fuel. This fuel chamber has an adjustable grate to control the rate of burn, size of the flames and the heat output. The 24-inch-wide logs can hold up to six cans of gelled-fuel for a maximum of 15,000 Btu of heat per hour.

Unlike vent-free natural gas fireplaces, there are no local codes banning gelled-fuel fireplaces. Pop the top off of the cans and place them into the burning chamber in the logs. The fuel lights easily with a match. To put the fire out, a special hook is used to slide a cover over the cans to extinguish them.

Write for (instantly download -www.dulley.com) Utility Bills Update No. 680 - buyer's guide of 11 electric and gelled-fuel logs and fireplace kits, styles, heat outputs, flame types, features and prices. Please include $3.00 and a business-size SASE. James Dulley, Illinois Country Living, 6906 Royalgreen Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45244.

NOVEMBER 2001 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING   19


The future is here for Illinois' coal industry

Industry progress was reported and the future of coal in Illinois was discussed when leaders in the coal industry met in Springfield on September 24-26 for the 2001 Governor's Illinois Coal Conference. Governor George H. Ryan said, "We have taken great strides this year to revitalize the $1.2 billion coal industry in Illinois. Our new $3.5 billion incentive package will stimulate efforts to modernize existing mines, aid the construction of power plants to cleanly burn the 250 year supply of coal in Illinois, and most importantly, create new jobs for Illinoisans."

Less than a year ago, Governor Ryan called industry executives, researchers and policy makers together to make Illinois coal an energy source for the future rather than the past. The result has been tremendous, with the Illinois General Assembly spearheading the most aggressive power plant incentive program in the nation. On the Federal level, Congress is preparing to enact a $2 billion, 10-year clean coal technology program that has the potential to build strong, long-term markets for Illinois coal.

This initiative has boded well for Illinois electric cooperatives. Corn Belt Energy Corporation in Bloomington has received a total of $52 million in grants for the $137-140 million construction of a clean burning coal-fired generating plant in Elkhart, near Turris Coal Mine. The grants were awarded by the Illinois Department of Energy, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs and the Clean Coal Review Board. It is estimated the plant will use 380,000 to 420,000 tons of coal per year, with a production capacity of 91 megawatts (MW) gross plant output.

Tony Campbell, vice president of electric distribution for Corn Belt Energy, said, "Grants assist with new technology and risk mitigation. They bring economies of scale to smaller proof of concept facilities. They also help with clean coal research and development." He concluded by saying, "The goal behind all of this is reduced electric rates for our co-op members."

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With the help of new funding, co-ops are moving forward with new clean coal technology.

Southern Illinois Power Cooperative in Marion has also received $1 million in grants from the Illinois Clean Coal Review Board, and plant officials are hoping for additional state assistance for their $200 million plant upgrade and expansion project. It is estimated the plant will require the skills of nearly 250 construction workers representing more than a dozen trades during the two-year construction project. Like Corn Belt's plant, this plant will also exceed stringent state and federal clean air requirements. Roger Dennison, president and general manager of Turris Coal Company, stressed the importance of Illinois coal to future power supply. He said the average American uses 20 pounds of coal per day in the form of electricity, and that use continues to escalate with the increased use of the Internet and the electric "toys" everyone must have now.

With the recent concerns of terrorism activity and the potential of restrictions on use of Middle Eastern oil reserves, Dennison said the U.S. needs to look in its own back yard for the answer to future energy supply. "We need to be positioned to be an exporter of electricity and plan for future needs, versus relying on imported electricity." He said Illinois is seventh among coal-producing states, and has 14 percent of the total coal reserves in the U.S. and 25 percent of the bituminous coal reserves. According to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, there is more energy in Illinois coal deposits than in the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. "And" Dennison added, "Not one American life has been lost trying to defend the right to use coal."

The commitment to facilitate the use of Illinois coal is more vital now than ever. As Governor Ryan says, "The future is here. Thousands of Illinois jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity depend on the mining of coal. We have a blueprint for the future."

20   ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING NOVEMBER 2001


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