If you were to speak to a home builder or an architect about fireplace options, they might tell you that wood-burning fireplaces are in a state of obsolescence. These days, they are pretty much only found in older homes, and in many regions of the US, it is impossible to get approved to build a new wood fireplace, whether it is for a new home or an existing one. This includes places around Los Angeles, NYC, and everything in between.
What options does this leave you? Many people are choosing to get built-in electric fireplaces as a much safer and much more heat-efficient choice. However, there are so many brands of electric fireplaces, and different types of electric fireplaces that each brand has, choosing the right one can be incredibly overwhelming. You want a fireplace that matches the home decor and interior design choices you’ve already made. You also want to avoid electric fireplaces that look tacky or cheap, so which one should you get?
In this article, we will break down the different electric fireplace types, which can be a built-in fireplace, and we will explain the benefits of each so that you can make a more educated decision about the fireplace that you choose to make the focal point of your home.
Here Are All Of The Questions That You Can Expect To Be Answered In This Article:
- Why Do People Like Built-In Electric Fireplaces Anyway? – The truth is, that some people have trouble adapting to new technology, even if it is the best choice. In this section, we will explain exactly why electric fireplaces are the best option out there, and why this new technology is very easy to adapt to.
- What Types of Fireplaces Are There and Which Can Be Built In? – Electric fireplaces come in so many types, it can be hard to know where to start. This section will cover the most common types, what they are used for, and which can be built-in models.
- For Spanish-speaking People, What Are Some Spanish Synonyms Found in a Thesaurus For Common Fireplace Terms? – Are you a bi-lingual person who is trying to talk about electric fireplaces to your family members who only speak Spanish? Here are some industry-specific terms that might help you out.
- What Is API in Reference To Electric Fireplaces? – In this section, we will talk about API standards and how they apply to your next fireplace.
- Which Fireplace Brand Has Flame Effects That Look The Most Like The Real Thing? – If realism is important to you, it is vital that you check out this section talking about one of the most realistic electric fireplaces available today.
Why Do People Like Built-In Electric Fireplaces Anyway?
If you are someone who isn’t quite sure about electric fireplaces just yet, this section will help ease your mind. Before you learn what is so great about electric fireplaces, you need to understand what is so wrong with traditional fireplaces. Here are the common issues wood fireplaces suffer from:
- Fire safety is an issue due to the problems with a flame being exposed to your home as well as the soot that builds up in the chimney.
- Smoke and carbon monoxide are both produced by wood fireplaces, and both of these harmful emissions can make their way into your home.
- Between cleaning your fireplace, building a fire, and maintaining your fire throughout the day, wood fireplaces can be a big hassle.
- A lot of heat is lost through the chimney making them very heat inefficient. This means you have to burn a lot of wood to make up for it.
- The smoky smell will always be present in your home during the time of year that you will be using your wood fireplace.
- Staining of the walls and furniture is inevitable over time when using wood fireplaces.
- You can’t mount your flat-screen TVs above wood fireplaces due to the damage that the rising heat and smoke will cause them.
- You need a good amount of storage space for all of the wood unless you want to pay for frequent deliveries of smaller amounts.
- If you can get one approved to be built in your region, it is a huge construction project that will cost you a lot of money.
You might think that gas fireplaces are a cleaner alternative to wood fireplaces, and you’d be right. However, they still suffer from issues of their own:
- Because gas fireplaces still have an exposed flame, they can still start a house fire if that flame comes into contact with something flammable.
- Although smoke isn’t an issue, carbon monoxide poisoning is still a very real issue.
- Gas fireplaces suffer from either dull natural coloring or bright neon blue coloring. Both look bad.
- Gas fireplaces tend to have extremely weak flames that never seem to have a flickering effect as a real fireplace would.
- They usually need a professional to install them, and the inclusion of gas lines and ventilation will add up to some expensive costs.
Contrary to these other types, electric fireplaces have tons of benefits you can look forward to enjoying:
- You don’t have to worry about your house catching on fire due to an exposed flame or soot in your chimney.
- The lack of burning means there aren’t harmful emissions that require ventilation.
- No burning also means you aren’t going to have to worry about the smell or the staining caused by smoke.
- These fireplaces are incredibly easy to use when comparing them to a wood fireplace which is basically a part-time job to run.
- Installation is easy. Pick a spot. Place your fireplace. Plug it into the wall. In most cases, that is all that is needed for installation.
- You can put electric fireplaces in any room within your home. You can put them in the dining room, a home office, your bedroom (consider a fake fireplace for your bedroom), and more. This is due to the simple requirements of only needing a nearby electrical outlet and not needing any ventilation.
- You don’t have to worry about electric fireplaces damaging a TV that you hang above it since there is no smoke and any warm is is blown out instead of rising directly up.
- The infrared coils are heat efficient and heat isn’t lost through any ventilation.
- You can set up supplemental zone heating for larger homes.
- They usually come with a remote control. They can also come with an app that allows the fireplace to be controlled via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
- With deluxe fireplace brands, you can get holographic flames that truly capture the ambiance of a wood-burning fireplace.
What Types of Fireplaces Are There and Which Can Be Built-In?
Electric fireplaces come in many different materials such as solid wood, engineered wood, stainless steel, and more. However, the actual types of electric fireplaces serve many different purposes. An integral part of choosing the right fireplace for your home is to choose a type that fits your specific situation. Here are the common types of electric fireplaces that you can consider:
- Fireplace Mantel Package For Flat Walls – This is the most common type. This is the one that looks like a standard wood fireplace, and also the one that most people go with if they want that traditional fireplace experience. These come with a mantel that is disconnected so that manufacturers can sell a variety of different mantels with a single fireplace unit. While these don’t have to be built-in and instead can be freestanding against a wall. They will often look better and more as part of the home if they are built into the wall at least partially.
- Corner Fireplace – This functions the same as the flat wall unit, however, the fireplace is designed into a shape so that it fits into a wall, and the front of the fireplace points to the center of the room at a 45-degree angle. Just like the flat wall unit, these can be freestanding or built-in for a more permanent look.
- TV Stand Fireplace – This is a TV stand with a fireplace built into the body of it. Typically, these aren’t usually built into the wall of a home, however, it is possible with a deep enough wall recession. The downside of these is that the fireplace inside takes up important storage space, and the fireplace itself tends to have weaker performance than a full-sized fireplace.
- Corner TV Stand Fireplace – These are the same TV stands but built for corner use. While they help save space, they typically suffer from the same issues as the standard TV stand fireplaces. If you want a fireplace for the corner of your home, you are better off just getting a standard corner unit with better performance. You can still put TVs on these as long as they aren’t too big to fit into a corner.
- Wall Mount Electric Fireplace – This is a fireplace that can be mounted up onto a wall, however, you have to use special mounting brackets that use the studs inside of the wall for support. Attaching it directly to the drywall will mean the fireplace will crash to the ground. You can also install these into a recessed wall for a built-in look. You can install it so that it is only partially recessed, or fully recessed, maybe next to a built-in bookshelf. Installing one of these next to recessed bookcases can make an incredibly inviting reading area.
- Fireplace Insert – These are always built-in fireplaces. These can be inserted into the opening of a wood fireplace to convert it into an electric one. However, they have other uses as well. They can be used with third-party mantels if you like the fireplace technology from one company but the mantels they offer don’t quite fit your style at home. They can also be used if you are more of a DIY type of person and want to build your own mantel from scratch.
- Freestanding Fireplace Heater – These are basic space heaters but sacrifices have been made in their ability to heat in order to make room for some lacking flame effects. These should be avoided at all costs. If you want something as a small, portable device, just get one of the standard electric fireplaces and a normal portable heater that performs better for special occasions.
- Fireplace Stoves – These are electric fireplaces that are made to look like wood stoves. These tend to look tacky in your average modern home, however, they have their place in extremely rural homes or wood cabins.
For Spanish-speaking People, What Are Some Spanish Synonyms Found in a Thesaurus For Common Fireplace Terms?
While there are many terms that are more obvious like fuego/fire or chimenea/fireplace, there are some terms that might not be quite as obvious when speaking specifically about a built-in electric fireplace. If you are speaking about a built-in electric fireplace, you need to know the terms encastre and empotrado. This is embed and embedded respectively. Another descriptive term for an inbuilt or built-in electric fireplace can be a fireplace that is incorporado or incorporate.
What Is API in Reference To Electric Fireplaces?
API is a set of safety standards involving the engineering of many different types of systems and devices. This includes safety standards involving electric fireplaces.
Which Fireplace Brand Has Flame Effects That Look The Most Like The Real Thing?
MagikFlame easily beats the competition when it comes to realistic fire effects. However, this isn’t the only thing that they have going for them. They also have several other benefits that you can enjoy. Here is what you get with any MagikFlame fireplace:
- 30 3D Holographic Flames To Choose From – Due to their Holoflame technology, you can enjoy ultrarealistic 3D flames that are projected onto a realistic physical log set that is inside of a MagikFlame fireplace. MagikFlame fireplaces have the most realistic flames on the market and are perfect for anyone who has a preference for realism.
- Audio Enhancement With Crackling Log Sounds – To further add to the extreme realism, MagikFlame fireplaces also play crackling log sounds so that you can hear every little pop and crackle of the simulated burning logs. Additionally, you can play relaxing sounds of nature if you choose to.
- 5,200 BTU Infrared Quartz Built-In Heater – There is a powerful and efficient heater inside of each MagikFlame fireplace. It is enough to heat most apartments, condos, and homes that are small to medium size. For very large homes, you can get a second MagikFlame fireplace for a supplemental heat setup.
- iPhone App – Instead of a boring remote, use the app that can be installed on an Apple device, whether it is a smartphone or a tablet. With this app, you can turn your fireplace on or off, change heat settings, or control all of the fire and audio effects options.
Here are just a few of the amazing MagikFlame models you can choose from:
- Trinity – The Trinity is a full-sized, flat wall, luxury mantel package with beautiful shapes and lines throughout the mantel’s beautiful, white solid wood.
- Churchill – The Churchill is a corner unit that has all of the amazing functionality of the other MagikFlame fireplaces, but in a package that fits perfectly for the corner of the room. This beautiful fireplace is great if you are trying to save space or you have an asymmetrical room layout where the corner makes a better focal point.
- Fireplace Insert – A MagikFlame fireplace insert is perfect if you want all of the features and benefits of a MagikFlame fireplace in conversion for your existing wood fireplace. It can also be used with third-party mantels or a mantel that you build yourself.
