100% Efficient

Unlike other types of fireplaces, electric fireplaces are 100% efficient, meaning that all of the energy used to produce the heat is transferred straight into your room.

Up to 80% of heat produced in a traditional wood burning fireplace can be lost up the chimney. Wood burning stoves and gas fireplaces are more efficient at heating your home than a traditional wood burning fireplace, but still can’t reach the same efficiency as an electric fireplace can.

Having wood burning fireplace in my living room, I can tell that it really doesn’t produce that much heat for the room.

No Smoke Or Harmful Gases

Electric fireplaces don’t produce smoke or any other gas byproducts, meaning that harmful gases such carbon monoxide can’t be released into your home.

This is because the flames in an electric fireplace aren’t real. The flames are instead produced either by an LED screen or by a rotary style light that creates the illusion of a real flame. I’ve gone into more depth about how a flame in an electric fireplace works if you’d like to know more.

Burning wood and gas releases carbon dioxide as a byproduct, but carbon monoxide can be released if the fuel isn’t burnt properly. Carbon monoxide is a colorless gas that has no taste or smell, and can be lethal if inhaled in large concentrations.

Smoke inhalation can be irritable, especially if you suffer from asthma. A blocked chimney can also cause smoke and harmful gases to enter your home, and leave your home smelling of smoke after a fire.

An electric fireplace doesn’t produce any byproducts from heating your room, meaning that you won’t have to worry about the potential side effects of using your fireplace.

You Don’t Need A Chimney

As an electric fireplace doesn’t produce any smoke or byproducts, venting to the outside of your home isn’t required. This means that an electric fireplace doesn’t need any form of chimney, flue or vent to operate.

This allows for a lot more flexibility on where you can locate an electric fireplace in your home. Other types of fireplace will need to be installed where there is an existing fireplace, or where fumes can more easily be vented to the outside.

As such, electric fireplaces can be located in any room in the house, not just in a room that has an existing fireplace. Electric fireplaces can even be used in your basement!

As an electric fireplace doesn’t release any smoke or small particles, there will be less costs associated with the maintenance of a chimney. This is in contrast with other types of fireplaces where it’s recommended that chimneys are swept at least once a year, or much more often when wood or coal is being burnt.

Electric fireplaces are also an ideal compromise if you live in an area with smoke restrictions.

Realistic Looking Flames

Even though the flames aren’t real, modern electric fireplaces create flames that can look very realistic. The flames won’t quite have that same nostalgic look, sound and feeling of a traditional open wood burning fireplace, but all of the other benefits of an electric fireplace combined make them a very worthwhile purchase.

Many electric fireplaces allow you to change the size and brightness of the flames to suit your preference.