Find your fireplace across Highlands County.

Gas and electric are the two fuels homeowners here actually install, and for good reason—with winter lows averaging 49°F and only a light, short heating season each year, there's simply no sustained cold to justify a wood-burning heat source. A propane-fed gas fireplace or insert gives you real flame and instant ambiance without a chimney to maintain, which fits Florida's humidity and lack of a true heating season. Electric fireplaces are just as popular, especially in newer builds, because they need no venting and can go anywhere in the house. Wood-burning fireplaces show up occasionally in older Sebring or Avon Park homes as a decorative holdover, but almost nobody burns cordwood as heat here. Pellet stoves are essentially not part of the local market.

Yes, in most cases. A new gas fireplace or gas line extension typically requires a permit through the Highlands County Building Division for unincorporated areas, or the relevant city permitting office if you're inside Sebring, Avon Park, or Lake Placid city limits, plus work by a licensed gas fitter for the propane connection. Electric fireplaces usually only need a permit if you're adding a dedicated circuit for a built-in unit—a simple plug-and-play model generally doesn't trigger the process. Most local dealers we match homeowners with handle this paperwork as part of the installation.

It's uncommon, and it's worth being upfront about that. With virtually no sustained heating season and average lows staying in the high 40s, a wood-burning fireplace in Highlands County functions purely as a decorative or occasional-use feature rather than a heat source—some older homes near Sebring's lake district still have the original masonry fireplace from before central air conditioning was standard. If you want that look, local oak and pine are available regionally, but plan on it as an occasional cool-evening feature, not a winter heating strategy.

Not really, at least not for home heating. Brands like Lignetics, Hamer Pellet Fuel, and Greenway Renewable Energy do have a regional presence, but that supply mostly serves grilling pellets and animal bedding rather than pellet stove installs. Given how mild Highlands County winters are, there's little demand for a dedicated pellet heating appliance, and you won't find many local dealers stocking pellet stoves or inserts as a result.

Gas fireplaces, inserts, and stoves generally run $4,500–$11,000 installed, with the range driven mostly by how far the propane line has to run and whether you're building a new hearth surround or converting an existing one. Electric fireplaces are considerably less—often $200–$3,000 for the unit, plus $400–$1,200 in labor if you're adding a built-in with a dedicated circuit rather than a plug-and-play model. The county + fuel pages above break these numbers down with local retailer pricing.

Humidity and salt-tinged air off the nearby lakes can accelerate corrosion on gas fireplace burner components and electric fireplace wiring connections faster than in drier climates, so an annual inspection before hurricane season ramps up in June is a smart habit, not an afterthought. Power outages during storm season are also worth planning around—a battery-backup ignition system on a gas unit means you can still run the fireplace if the grid goes down, which matters more in rural parts of the county than it does in town.

On average, a fireplace adds back to the home about the same amount you spent installing it. Add the monthly savings from heating the rooms you actually use instead of the whole house—often hundreds of dollars a year—and the value case is strong before you even count what a fire does for how your family uses the room.

If you're putting a fire in your house on purpose, it's best to work with an expert. Unless you're genuinely experienced in framing, gas line, vent pipe, and the national code on clearances to combustibles, have a professional do it—and ideally the same company that sells you the fireplace, so warranty, service, and liability all live under one roof.

It's a visit where a hearth professional measures your space, confirms the model you picked actually works in your home, and walks the specs—framing, gas line, venting, finish work—before anything is ordered. Some details you just can't know until you see the house. Never make a down payment without one; it's the single most-skipped step that burns buyers.

Ideally, yes. A fireplace project involves vent pipe, gas line, electrical, and often tile or stone. Hire three or four separate trades and you own the liability and the game of telephone between them. One company selling and installing means one accountable party, start to finish—ask about factory training, on-time completion records, and what happens if an inspection fails.