In our last house, we had a free-standing vermont castings propane fired stove but it was vented like a woodstove through the roof and it worked great even when the electricity was off. It looked just like a real fire (well almost) when it was burning. We did have a blower on it which we used when the electricity was on. One thing though - I think these type of stoves have a trickle electric start so if the electricity is off you won't be able to ignite it. The stove would have to be running already when the electricity goes off - there must be some other type with a battery back up in this day and age but I am unfamiliar. We also had a propane wall heater but that too was vented through the roof with a pipe through the wall like a bathroom vent is. This also worked well - we had that in our bedroom which was downstairs and since heat doesn't sink - we needed a source of heat down there too. Linda