Gas Fireplace - to Flip or not to Flip (a switch)

[atlasfever]

Background: Gas Fireplace
Issue: Electrician looked at me with a funny gaze when I (assumed) I could just flip a switch on the wall, and a gas fire would ignite and look pretty.

Question: In the UK, don't you have a gas fire insert that has an electronically controlled gas feed and igniter? My aim is to have a setup where I just flip a switch (not in the fireplace itself) and voila, a gas fire starts. And, to turn it off, I just flip the switch again.

Call me crazy, but I think this must be old news, yes? We had this in north america more than 25 years ago, so I must not be doing a good job of explaining what I mean, and that's why the electrician looked at me in a funny way?

Anyone know what this contraption is called? Oh, and I don't need a remote control. I'm lazy, but not that lazy

 

[Svenedin]

I've never heard of such a thing.

 

[Owain]

Yes.

Sometimes you have to light the pilot light manually, others have full remote control.
http://www.stovax.com/system_pages/features_-_built_in_fires.aspx

 

[DJH]

I don't see why a gas fire could not be fitted with just a switch to ignite a pilot light and then the fire. Potterton were using this sort of system for their Netaheat boilers 30 years or more ago...

Doug

PS I've catalogued 42 books so far... Now I need to source some clear plastic covers to protect some very old dust jackets from deteriorating and consequently affecting the value of the book within. At some stage I''ll need to know how to sort the list into catagories...