Thanks for the compliments. The guy that did the install also did the (faux) stone work, we were pretty happy with the results.
Bushmans - Does that fireplace have an air space between the firebox the the outer surround? In other words, are you able to able to circulate any air behind the firebox? I like the full length brick work, more opportunity for wood storage.
I'm sure with the zero clearance that we're losing some efficiency but the blower will push quite a bit of air out the top grill.
We built the house in '08 and didn't really intend to be using the fireplace as a primary heat source. Had we known, we would have connected the HVAC to the 8" pipe on the back of the unit. We did put an oversized cold air return in that room so the furnace can do a better job of distributing the heat (the blower runs constantly in a circulation mode which is about 30% of full speed).