Choosing the Ideal Ignition for Your Fireplace Insert

BY Dani Bell Nov 03, 2024

The next step of selecting your fireplace insert is deciding on an ignition type. So, do you know the different ways to start your fire in a fireplace insert? There are four main types of ignition to focus on: manual, millivolt, electronic, and electric ignitors. Now, let's discuss each so you know what to look for!

Manual Ignition: As the name might imply, a manual ignition is one that you must light manually. These are also sometimes called match light since matches are a common method to do so. Manual ignition fireplace inserts are usually less expensive than fireplace inserts with other ignition types.

Millivolt: Thanks to its standing pilot light, the millivolt ignition system is often called a standing pilot. This means that the pilot light is always lit until it is manually turned off. Many enjoy millivolt ignitions since they can often still be used partially or completely when the power is out! If you'd like to learn more about millivolt ignitions, please check out our What Is A Standing Pilot article, written by an NFI-certified technician.

Electronic Ignition: An electronic ignition system may also be called an IPI ignition. An electronic ignition uses electricity to open and close the gas valve on demand in a gas fireplace insert. It turns your fireplace off and on by igniting or extinguishing the pilot. Electronic ignitions are often praised for being cost-efficient because they can save money on fuel costs. Some Electronic Ignition fireplaces can be switched between standing pilot and IPI in case of power outages.

Electric Ignitor: You may wonder about the difference between an electronic ignition and an electric ignitor. Though they both use electricity to ignite the fuel to create your fire, an electric ignitor system does not have a pilot light. This type of ignition is typically found in corn or pellet fireplace inserts. Electric Ignitors will always need electricity.

Now that we have covered ignition types, let's go to the next step – control type!

About the Author

Dani Bell

Dani, our Head Writer and Editor, has been in the hearth and fireplace industry for six years. She has written a number of our articles for both eFireplaceStore and eCanopy to balance technical knowledge with customer-friendly terminology and style. Currently, she is studying to earn all of her National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certifications and works with the content department to add products to the eFireplaceStore and eCanopy websites.