Electric fireplaces offer a convenient way to heat your home, with easy installation and no remodeling.
The Best Electric Fireplaces
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How to Choose an Electric Fireplace
The top performers in our review are the R.W.FLAME 60″, the Gold Award winner; the Antarctic Star 36 Inch, the Silver Award winner; and the Amerlife Electric Fireplace with Mantel, the Bronze Award winner. Here’s more on choosing an electric fireplace to meet your needs, along with detail on how we arrived at our ranking of products.
A fireplace adds both warmth and a relaxing ambiance to any home, but standard fireplaces also require a lot of effort to get the heat and atmosphere you might be looking to give your home. Additionally, regular fireplaces require a chimney or a flue, have live flames and smoke, and take a lot of maintenance to keep clean.
Electric fireplaces, however, give you the heat a space heater would give you, but also the ambiance that flames can provide. The best part is you won’t be chopping wood, dealing with coal or building the fire.
Electric vs. Standard
Along with the low maintenance and virtually no effort, electric wall fireplaces have a handful of other benefits and advantages over traditional fireplaces. First and foremost, an electric fireplace provides heat to any room in a matter of minutes, and all you have to do is push a button. Additionally, you can operate the fireplace from across the room with the remote control.
Smokeless fireplaces also don’t require all the work that a standard fireplace does, such as chopping or purchasing wood, building the fire, cleaning the unit, and making sure the chimney stays clean. Furthermore, you can even just have the ambiance a fireplace can provide without the heat aspect if you want.
Heat Technology
Wall-mount electric fireplaces operate so simply – all you have to do is plug the unit into an electrical outlet and turn it on, adjusting the settings on either the control panel or with the remote control.
But how do electric fireplaces work? When you turn the unit on, the metal coils inside heat up and the fan pushes the warm air out of the vent, which is usually on the top or the bottom of the unit, and into the room. They really are that simple. And depending on the unit, you could be looking at up to 5,000 Btu of heat, which is a lot.
Most electric fireplaces only have a few different settings – low, high and no heat. However, many units also have temperatures settings, allowing you to determine the temperature you want the room to be.
Compared to standard fireplaces that have live flames and smoke and are hot to the touch, electric fireplaces are much safer for homes with children. Additionally, most electric fireplaces have a shut-off feature that ensures the unit turns off if it gets too hot.
Smokeless fireplaces are very simple to use, too. Most can be controlled with the touch of a button on the unit or with a remote control.
Top 4 Best Electric Fireplace Reviews
Duraflame DFI-5010
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The Duraflame DFI-5010 is a powerful heater that can warm a 1,000-square-foot space. A remote control allows you to switch it on and off, as well as adjust the flame height.
There are also touchpad controls on the unit, nicely hidden behind the door. Unfortunately, they aren’t backlit, so it can be difficult to see them in the dark.
This device is the only one in our comparison that uses infrared heat. This basically means that it can warm your house without drying it out. The timer feature allows you to set times for the unit to turn on and off. This heater will automatically shut off if it overheats, and it remains cool to the touch, so your pets and children will be protected. It also uses a 3-D flame effect to make the flames look more realistic. Unlike some electric fireplaces, this one doesn’t allow you to change the flame color. It uses a fan to spread heat throughout your home, but some users find the fan a bit noisy.
Duraflame offers this fireplace in six colors, which gives it the widest color selection of any heater in our evaluation. It is covered by a one-year warranty, which is typical for this kind of unit. It weighs less than many other electric fireplaces, so it is easier to move when necessary. Despite being lightweight, it is sturdy and reliable.
Walker Edison Jackson
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The Walker Edison Jackson gives you an electric fireplace, a storage space, and a TV stands all in one. It has the healing power to warm a 400-square-foot room, and it stays cool to the touch.
Since it also doubles as a media center, it doesn’t have as many heating functions as other fireplaces. For example, there is no timer function, and it doesn’t come with a remote. You can choose between four colors: espresso, brown, black, and white oak.
You can choose to have the heat on or off; there are no heat-level options. The surface of this unit can accommodate a 48-inch flat-screen TV, and the cupboards and storage spaces give you room for books, movies, and gaming consoles. Altogether, it can handle 250 pounds, which is enough to hold most 48-inch TVs, as long as the base fits on the furniture. It is easier to hide the electrical cord with this device than it is with many other electric fireplaces. Should the heating coils overheat, this unit will automatically shut off.
You will need to assemble this fireplace upon delivery. It will take roughly an hour to set up, and you will probably want someone assisting you. It weighs 107 pounds, which makes it a relatively heavy fireplace, and it is surprisingly sturdy. The TV stand is covered by a 30-day warranty and the fireplace itself is covered by a one-year warranty.
Touchstone Onyx
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The Touchstone Onyx is a wall-mounted electric fireplace. It comes with wall-mounting brackets so you can set it up yourself.
Using 1,500 watts of power and producing 5,118 Btu, it can heat a 400-square-foot room. It comes with a remote control to control the heat and flame height. Unfortunately, there are no touchpad controls, so you will need to keep the remote in a safe location.
The heating timer allows you to run the fireplace for as little as 30 minutes and as long as 7.5 hours before shutting off. Should the unit overheat, it will automatically shut off. This unit also stays cool to the touch, so you don’t have to worry about anyone getting burned. There is no adjustable thermostat, so you will have to rely on the preprogrammed heat settings.
This fireplace is covered by a one-year warranty, but you can pay extra to cover it for an additional two years. Should you simply want to use it for ambiance, you can have the flames going without the heater. It is one of the sleekest fireplaces in our comparison and can save you floor space since it is mounted to the wall.
Comfort Zone CZPF1
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If you want a compact, portable and affordable electric fireplace, the Comfort Zone CZPF1 is the best we saw.
At $38, it is also one of the cheapest models we reviewed. It emits enough heat to warm 200 square feet – enough for a dorm room or similar small space. This is a relatively simple model. For example, it doesn’t have a remote, and there are only two settings. Its 6-foot cord is long enough you can put the fireplace where you need it. Also, the Comfort Zone CZPF1 has a safety feature that shuts it off if it overheats or tips over.
What We Evaluated, What We Found
During our evaluation of electric fireplaces, we considered the heating ability, design and convenience of each unit. Heating ability and design were weighted heavier than the convenience features of the unit.
Heating ability is the most important aspect of an electric fireplace that you should consider before determining which one is right for your home. We looked at the number of heat settings each unit had – most units come with two, just a low and a high setting, but some have more. We also considered the best room size, in square footage, that an electric fireplace can heat. Finally, we considered the power aspect of the unit – the Btu and wattage.
The Btu of an electric fireplace is essentially its ability to heat the desired area. Most electric fireplaces are designed to heat a 400-square-foot room fairly quickly and have a Btu capacity of 4,500 to 5,000. The larger the Btu capacity, the quicker the unit will heat the recommended area. Additionally, the wattage is the required power it takes to operate the unit. A unit with a higher wattage draws more power to operate. Most electric fireplaces have wattage of 1,400 to 1,500.
Design was also a major consideration in our evaluation of electric fireplaces. We looked at the weight and dimensions of each unit, and features that make them modern and sleek. The weight and dimensions of the units are important to consider when determining which electric fireplace you want to place in your home, but they did not affect the ranking of the electric fireplaces on the lineup.
Many electric fireplaces come with flame effect, which gives you the ambiance of a fireplace with or without the heat output. Other design features include the fuel bed and LEDs that give the fireplace its life.
How Much Do Electric Fireplaces Cost?
The electric fireplaces we looked at cost between $40 and $500 – no matter your budget, you should be able to find one that fits your needs. Smaller fireplaces, ideal for small rooms, can be found for less than $100. If you want to heat a larger room or want the fireplace to be decorative, you’ll likely pay anywhere from $200 to $500. These larger fireplaces can serve as media centers, so you essentially get two pieces of furniture in one.
Benefits of an Electric Fireplace
In addition to looking great, an electric fireplace is an energy-efficient way to heat a room. We talked to Cida Carvalho of Sandy, Utah, who has used a Southern Enterprise Faircrest electric fireplace for the last five years, and she says she loves it.
“It looks like a real fireplace, which I guess it is in a way,” she said. “And it heats up the room better than any wood fireplace or space heater I’ve ever used,” Carvalho said another benefit is she has saved significant money on energy bills since buying it. She also loves how low maintenance it is. “I love that you don’t have the mess and smoke of a wood fireplace and you don’t have to deal with drafts blowing into the room after the fire goes out.”
Carvalho loves cuddling up next to her electric fireplace to watch TV or read a book. The remote control works from across the room, so she doesn’t even have to get out of her chair to turn it on or adjust its settings. In the five years she’s had it, she really hasn’t had any issues. When asked what she liked least about it, Carvalho was stumped and couldn’t think of anything. She said if it ever dies, she won’t hesitate to buy another one but hopes it will last many more years.
What Else Are Important?
Aside from heating ability, design and convenience features, there are a couple things you should consider before adding an electric fireplace to your home and determining which one is right for you.
Size
Depending on where in your home you’re going to install your wall-mounted electric fireplace, you’ll need to consider the size. These smokeless fireplaces come in all different widths and heights. However, in general, they range in size from 26 inches wide to 50 inches wide and 17 inches high to 24 inches high.
Installation
Installing a wall-mounted electric fireplace in your home doesn’t require major remodeling of your home or reconstruction of the wall you plan to put it on. Electric fireplaces can be installed quickly and without much effort, too. Most units come with the required mounting hardware and instructions to mount the unit by yourself in a matter of minutes.
Warranty
Wall-mounted electric fireplaces are generally covered by a one-year warranty. However, some manufacturers offer an extended warranty for the unit at an additional cost at the time of purchase.
Verdict and Recommendations
Three electric fireplaces topped our lineup thanks to their heating ability, overall design and convenience features. Our top product, the R.W.FLAME 60″, is designed to heat a room of up to 400 square feet, offers two heat settings, and has a timer and an automatic shut-off feature. The Antarctic Star 36 Inch and the Amerlife Electric Fireplace with Mantel, our other top electric fireplaces, ranked high for their ability to heat a large room, their high Btu numbers, and design and convenience features.
An electric fireplace provides similar heating results to a standard fireplace. However, electric fireplaces offer all of the heat and ambiance you might be looking to add to your home without the hassle a standard fireplace requires. Additionally, the modern and sleek look of a wall-mounted electric fireplace will give any room in your home an instant makeover.
