Because grilling food is an essential part of summer, it’s important to have the right equipment.

If you want ease and convenience, a gas grill might be for you.

Jim Thompson, owner of the Sears store in Harmony, said gas grills are quick to light and heat up, and the gas burns more cleanly and evenly,

Thompson also said gas grills have been imporved in the past few years. There now are many options available for the size, number and type of burners you may want.

“It benefits the consumers to do their research because there’s a lot to pick from,” Thompson said.

Some models come with a rear burner for a rotisserie or a high heat infrared burner for searing. These options can expand your grilling repertoire past the traditional cookout fare of burgers, hot dogs and steaks.

With the variety of gas grills comes a variety of price tags. If you’re a summer-only griller, you may want a smaller, inexpensive model. If you plan on getting a lot of use out of your grill year round, you should look into a larger grill with the various burner options.

If you’re looking for versatility and adventure in your grilling, a ceramic smoker grill might be a good fit. Ceramic grills, or kamado style grills, are charcoal grills that use 100 percent natural hardwood charcoal.

Although charcoal grills notoriously take a long time to heat up, ceramic grills have an airtight design which lets them get hot in about 10 minutes and they retain heat for a long time, according to Gary Ferguson of Ferguson Free Energy in Mars.

This design is what allows ceramic grills to be so versatile. They can be used to grill, smoke or bake.

Megan Murphy of Hearth and Home in Zelienople said that at the Pittsburgh Eggfest, which featured the Big Green Egg brand of ceramic grill, people cook “everything from breakfast to dessert.”

She recommends people explore options and be open-minded when looking for a grill.

“It doesn’t have to be gas,” Murphy said.

Ferguson also said people should not be intimidated by different kinds of grills.

He recommends looking into all options and talking to people who own the grills and have cooked on them.

“Look around and talk to people,” he said.