We were looking at them at a Home Show at the weekend and were impressed. We realise they don't go if there is a power cut, as the man demonstrating them pointed that out. The fan was running on the one they had going and, although a little noisier than the one on our gas fire, it was not objectionable (of course it was a large and noisy stadium too so perhaps in a quiet room it may be worse).
Pellets are made by quite a few companies now and more are looking into it (including a local company here). Since they are approved by the government, and considered environmentally friendly, I think they will not stop making the pellets.
They certainly appear to be cheaper to run than our gas fire. Gas in the South Island is way more expensive than you pay in the North Is. :evil: With 3 price rises in the past 12 months we are looking into alternatives. We have heat pumps elsewhere in the house but we like the look of flames. Besides, we have a hearth and brick wall up behind it and if we removed that we would have to get more carpet and re-wallpaper!
I think I will ring the local supplier and ask if he can let me see one of his satisfied customer's fires in situ and see for myself.
Zev, I think I can find a Consumer (library has them) but don't have much faith in their tests. It would be interesting to see what they said though.