Last update: Nov 01 2002
Vent free heaters are not a new technology to America but they are still a new technology to some people. With that in mind this page explains how safe the DESA models are and compares them to other every day appliances.
Whether your DESA vent free gas heater is an infrared design (brick heater), a blue flame design, a vent free gas log set or even a vent free fireplace, the design and safety information on this page applies.
 What makes a gas heating product vent free ?
A precision engineered burner (made in the USA - these are not cheap imports) that provides 99% fuel efficiency. This is accomplished by advanced air/gas mixing chambers, burner designs, and many other features all developed to produce the cleanest, most complete possible burn.
These units do not require a vent or chimney to exhaust the normally unused by-products of combustion found in vented heaters.
Safe and clean burning
All of our vent free gas space heating products are design certified by the CSA and meet or exceed all regulations and safety performance standards.
They all perform well within nationally recognized guidelines for indoor air quality.
Each unit is 100% performance tested before leaving the manufacturing line - these are not cheap imports.
These heaters are so clean in their operation that they only emit 5 to 7 particals of carbon monoxide per hour where as a typical gas stove will emit 50 particals per hour (vent free DESA heaters are seven to ten times cleaner than gas stoves).
Oxygen Detection Safety
The dual purpose Oxygen Detection Safety (ODS) pilot (also known as Oxygen Depletion Sensor) automatically shuts off the flow of the gas in the rare instance that the level of oxygen falls from the normal 20.9% to 18.5% or an interruption in the fuel supply occurs.
18.5% is lower than the normal level but still well above safe levels for human occupation.
ODS systems have been in operation since the 1950's. Since that time no death has ever resulted from a heater with one fitted. There could be many reasons for this, but the most obvious one seems to be that the heater cuts off way before safe levels are breached.
Combine the safety mechanisms built into these heaters with the overall cost savings and you can easily see why America is switching to vent free. A vented gas heater will allow 70% to 85% of its generated heat to go straight out of the vent. BUT THESE vent free heaters will allow only 1% of your fuel bill to escape.
Easy Install
These heaters are so easy to install that the installation costs can be as low as $20 - yes twenty dollars - based on leasing a 300 lb propane tank located through a wall less than 10 feet from the heater.
We have had reports that some installers (who are presumeably quite happy with the full blown cost of vented gas heaters) are not even offering vent free heaters to their customers.
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