Nu-Air Ventilation of Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada has received Underwriters Laboratory certification for a gas fireplace well-suited to apartments and condos. It burns with 95% efficiency, and doesn't require a chimney. Also acts as air conditioner.
(OPENPRESS) Nu-Air Ventilation of Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada has created a gas fireplace with 95% burning efficiency. Most conventional fireplaces are approximately 75% efficient, and the wasted energy heats up the chimney.
The new model is well-suited for apartments and condominiums because the exhaust only reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit—so a piece of plastic pipe will suffice instead of an insulated chimney.
As well, it's not only a gas fireplace, but also a gas furnace, an air conditioner and a ventilation unit all in one.
The product has recently been approved by the Underwriters Laboratory, the North American Gas Association, and the Canadian Standards Association, and is able to heat or cool an area of at most 2,500 square feet.
Production on a limited run of 50 to 100 units begins this fall, with more to be built next year.
Nu-Air Ventilation started in 1984 when company founder Earl Caldwell roughed out a plan for a heat recovery unit (HRV) on a 2 X 6 piece of lumber on a jobsite, and pre-sold it to a homeowner. He bent the sheet metal for the HRV over a table and used tin snips to cut it. The unit is still working, "We tried to get it back. He [the owner] wouldn't part with it."
Since then, a strong product development team and top-of-the-line engineering have helped the rural-based, family-owned ventilation systems company receive patents and develop products that are well-received across the globe (primarily Canada, the US, and India, with accelerating plans for China as well).
Asked if there is any more efficient gas flame in a home heating unit, Caldwell says he and his people have searched the internet and, "We haven't been able to find one." He added the new fireplace will have an estimated installed cost of $10-12 thousand—including all necessary labor, ducting and grills—and will be available for purchase through Nu-Air.
Caldwell said Enbridge Inc. asked Nu-Air almost six years ago to develop a product like this, and Nu-Air was able to do so, in part with financial assistance from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the National Research Council through the Industrial Research Assistance Program.
Contact:
Matt Kimball
Controller, Nu-Air
(902) 798-2261
matt@nu-airventilation.com
Press Keywords: fireplace, gas fireplace, Nu-Air, Enbridge, air conditioner, burning efficiency, apartments, condominiums, condos, ventilation unit, gas furnace, Underwriters Laboratory, North American Gas Association, Canadian Standards Association, home heating unit, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, National Research Council, ACOA
