A traditional fireplace is a source of heat and old-school charm. There are the standard issues involved in maintaining them. Like cleaning the ash, chimney cleaned by professionals, buying wood, chopping wood, and the back-straining of hauling wood. If you’re thinking about trying an electric fireplace, but you’re wondering how it works the job, we’re going to walk through the whole process right now and find out if they’re right for your needs.
How is an Electric Fireplace Powered?
If you’re worried about have to find a spot to run some heavy 220v power, then stress not! Almost all electric fireplaces use a standard three-prong Edison plug and 110v power, meaning pretty much any normal socket in your house can accommodate the electric fireplace just fine.
Run the cable, plug it in, and tack it down against the molding or along the base of the wall and you’re ready to huddle around the warm, comfortable glow.
How Do the Flames Look?
Obviously, we use fireplaces because of the warmth, but there’s no denying that they just look great on a cold winter night. The flickering flames, the lambent glow, they pull us back to Christmas, to too cold nights, to cuddles and family.
If you’re worried about losing some of that magic, just know that there are plenty of electric fireplaces that come with built-in logs and realistic-looking flames. But how are the flames created?
For starters, there are no actual flames involved. Instead, the effect is created with a lightbulb or LEDs and is projected in a number of ways. Some of the more elaborate electric fireplaces even use a fine mist spray to create the illusion of smoke and to make the flames look distorted and even more realistic.
How Warm Does the Fireplace Get?
The heat being put out is going to depend greatly on the model you buy, but they’re usually capable of putting out somewhere between 400 and 500 BTUs.
While that will definitely warm a medium to a large-sized room and offer some bleed into closer rooms, an electric fireplace isn’t going to serve as your sole source of heat for your entire house. But when placed in a living room, dining room, or any common area, it’s more than enough to get the job done.
The Electric Fireplace: How It Works
Electric fireplaces use a combination of heating coils and low-noise fans to heat the room. They work by drawing cool air in, heating the air with the coil, and then pushing it back out again into the room. This is all done very subtly – it won’t feel like you’re sitting in front of a hot fan.
Instead, it will feel much more like a fireplace than your heater will.
Here’s A Relevant Video From YouTube:
What Other Features Does an Electric Fireplace Come With?
There are some highly sophisticated flame and smoke simulators inside of modern electric fireplaces. But they also can come with other exciting features.
For the most part, electric fireplaces with remotes allow you to dial your fireplace in exactly how you want. Set the temperature, change the color, configure how the embers pulsate. And even alter how the false smoke looks, if your unit is equipped with those features.
Another brilliant bit of tech that’s been added to some electric fireplaces is a built-in air purifier. Since the air in the room is being continually drawn into the fireplace and pumped back out again, engineers had the idea to include an air filter to clean allergens and particulate out of the air while keeping it warm.
Now that’s something a regular fireplace can’t do. But how it works with an electric fireplace!
What’s Required for Installation?
You don’t need a professional crew to install an electric fireplace, unlike a normal wood-burning hearth. After delivery, you find a spot for the electric fireplace, set it in place, and plug it in. No construction needed.
Almost all electric fireplaces come with a mantel, frame, and base. And can be placed in your home right away and look like it’s been there forever.
Stay Warm Without the Wood
If you either don’t have the room in your house for a standard fireplace. Or you’re concerned about the fire hazard; an electric fireplace is a great substitute.
And because the fireplace is plugged in the socket, if ever there’s a problem the breaker will flip. No need to worry about the house burning down from some untended embers.
With the tech for more realistic flames and smoke looking better than ever. And with a firm understanding of how they work, now’s a time to try an electric fireplace.