Funny thing is, this is first time, being in business almost 30 years I had a discussion about a fan issue. I think the only reason I kept this going is because I'm starting to like Fred, he is a nut for sure, but as we know "slow and uneducated people" as Fred called me, not far away from nut jobs like himself (nothing personal Fred :-) ) by the way my reaction could of been a little different if you said that to me in person, but here I take that as a compliment so it's all good, not to mention before I got here, I thought I was nuts, and then I met everyone else, so now I don't feel as bad. I'll be frank on this fan issue... I give it one more shot LOL IMO and probably 99.9% of people all over the world know and will say You need to have a kitchen fan PERIOD. All Building science researches show that natural ventilation is not enough to create clean air environment, especially in the kitchen area. When it comes to clean air environment many professionals don't consider Natural ventilation being effective, simply because it is not a consistent source of ventilation throughout the year... whether its due to seasonal weather change, environment, security concerns, building design, etc and I will not get into technical data on the issue to make it simple. Hood fan, bathroom fan, is a mechanical and efficient source of ventilation and is available on demand at any time and when its needed the most. When it comes to Natural ventilation,you cannot tell the weather to change or make wind to start blowing on the calm hot day, each time you turn on the stove and open your window to get the vapors, odors and grease out of the house. To have natural ventilation effective, you have to meet certain conditions for it to work, wind and pressure is one of the most important ingredients for it to work. Code in the book basically puts it in simple words for you to keep everything far away from the cooktop that can catch fire and that if you don't have a Mechanical source of ventilation you need a window so you don't have to breath all in or fill the house with smoke... But as the window goes, everyone knows it will do nothing to ventilate a kitchen or remove grease and all that other good stuff, like someone said, there will be haze, there will be fumes, there will be odor and after you done cooking, it will take a good 30-1hr for it to clear up if you can keep window open that long. They had to put something in the code on the issue, so they added " Natural Ventilation" even if its not efficient source of ventilation but at least someone will have a brain to put a window in the kitchen area... now if someone questions that, they can point a finger in the book and say you need at least a window. Like many others said before Code is written to meet the minimum standard requirements. Fan should be installed right over the cooktop and directly above the source which creating heat, vapors, grease,etc to eliminate the problem the minute it leaves the cooktop, not allowing it spread allover the house and mess everything up along the way. If you have a high capacity fan, you have to open the window, so the fan will not create a negative pressure in the house, by sucking all the air out " that was another code requirement that was floating here" You see more and more people looking to install high capacity hood fans, especially in homes where people of Chinese or Indian decent, who use various methods of cooking which create smoke, odors, etc... As a matter a fact when they looking to purchase a home, that is one of the main concerns is the the kitchen and the hood fan. Kitchen and bathroom fans you always install without thinking about it ... like you would install a light over the sink, like you would install a light switch when you open the door and not behind it, like you would set a toilet over the drain. There is also language in the code saying that you don't need a fan if you have a window in the bathroom. Well try to take a hot shower in a small bathroom and have your small window open, even if a window is right above the tub... see how effective that will be, before you know the paint will start to crumble, peel or turn color. You have to have a Fan in every bathroom as well. Period. As local requirements go... Each township, or municipality has the jurisdiction to create/adopt/change rules, regulations, what ever you want to call it and enforce them, aside State laws or adopted codes to make something better and again to a better minimum. The reason they do that, is because to change something in the book can take years and years and its a complicated process. So if something needs to be changed which not making sense at all, they just cut it out completely, local building department will say if there is an issue provide manufacturer installation instruction before they approve something that is not in the book. I personally didn't know it was a requirement ( we been installing them all the time) when I was building a new house about 3 years ago and a Homeowner ordered a hood fan and it came in damaged so they send it back. Plumbing inspector said you have to have a fan its a requirement, and Fire Inspector said the same thing when he did his inspection. He also said, not only they set off smoke detectors if any close by or in the next rooms next to the kitchen, it will make them malfunction and fail because the window cannot ventilate fast enough and grease particles have tendency to stick to the "censor strip" on the detector. So homeowner got a $30 fan just to get all inspections. With that said , if I was doing building in a town where you can get away with installing one... code or no code a fan would be installed regardless... and when someone again asks me for advise, I will say again and again it is the code... if not in the Building code book, its in my common sense code book for sure and its on the front page and it comes from experience... So ladies and gent's, I hope everyone will install and use Mechanical ventilation in the kitchen or bathroom area, because its cleaner and its healthier for you, your family and the surrounding environment, and that is a proven facts. Period. Good luck

The utility rates are going to increase in my area. I plan on using the grill a lot more. And who knows I may even use it more often in the winter as well. I've done this before. Gas or Electric at this point, "what ever". I have gas now because I like being able to see my fire. Plus I don't really cook as much as I use to. Empty nest. And my guests like the idea of grilled foods in all the seasons of the year. I spent a small fortune on a kitchen that gets very little use. And on pots and pans that almost do magic. Or so the guy who sold them to me said. I see these over sized kitchens and can't think of nothing but Really Really. For those who love to spend time in the kitchen more power to you. I rather be outside. I don't intend to spend to much of my time cooking during retirement years. Its time for me to be the guest.

We have a two bedroom suite with renters in it and they have their own heat control. Their rent includes utilities so we just suck it up as a part of having tenants. If I notice their windows are open a ton I will ask if there are any heat issues but it hasn't been a problem.

So we've been looking at the Napoleon Luxuria models for our see through fireplace project. They are said to be zero clearance to combustibles so it might work with our exterior wall that's vinyl. And cool to the touch glass because they have a separate ventilation slit that is mounted above the fireplace close to the ceiling. Only problem is, the 50" see through model we were looking at costs $11k for the fireplace alone. Now... we're contemplating if it's worth spending that much money on that part of our home renovation. Napoleon Indoor/Outdoor Fireplace We were originally looking at the Monessan Artisan but the sales rep lied and said there was a 60" see through, there's not. Only comes as a 42" vent-free see through model at roughly $3k. So then we checked the Boulevard 60" vent-free see through model... but that was $6k and felt cheap in comparison to Napoleon. So now we're trying to find a fireplace guy that's familiar with dynamic heat control and a fireplace seller willing to sell us a 50" luxuria direct vent see through... and it's definitely an uphill battle.