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How to Work An Electric Fireplace For Your Home

which electric firepalces give off heat

When it comes to a cozy fireplace for your home, many people immediately think of the flickering flames and soft glow of a fireplace that burns wood. However, for homeowners, there is another great alternative that provides the exact same atmosphere as one of these fireplaces without all of the hassle that comes with it: electric fireplaces.

Unfortunately, some people believe that electric fireplaces are difficult to control with all of their buttons and options. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Electric fireplaces are easy to install, easy to control, require no venting or flue, are incredibly cost-effective, and can visually simulate a realistic flame.

Let’s break down everything you need to know about electric fireplaces, their benefits, and exactly how easy it is to work one in your home.

In This Post, You Will Learn:

  • The Common Misconceptions Of Electric Fireplaces – Many people have a lot of misconceptions about how electric fireplaces work, how difficult they are to set up, and how complicated the variety of options is to control. This section will help remedy these common misconceptions.
  • The Downsides Of A Traditional Fireplace – Here we will list the four different types of fireplaces that wood-burning people commonly have in their homes and all of the many downsides that come with them. After reading this, you’ll definitely think twice about considering using one.
  • Why A Gas Fireplace Isn’t The Best Alternative To A Wood Fireplace – Despite gas fireplaces being a slightly better alternative to having a fireplace that burns wood, there are still plenty of disadvantages. This section will shed some light on the problems that come with the two most common types of fireplaces that burn gas.
  • The Benefits Of An Electric Fireplace – There are several benefits of the different types of electric fireplaces that you can install in your living room. From an authentic simulated flame effect to a remote control that allows you to set the thermostat, we will cover all of the benefits that electric fireplaces have over ones that burn wood or gas.
  • Why You Should Consider A MagikFlame Electric Fireplace – Here we will highlight an electric fireplace that displays some of the best flickering flame simulations on the market. We’ll also talk about the additional options that really help provide a great fireplace ambiance.
  • How To Install An Electric Fireplace – Since many people think that installing an electric fireplace is complicated or difficult, we will explain exactly how easy it is to install one of these in one or more rooms of your house.
  • How An Electric Fireplace Works – This section will demystify electric fireplaces and show you the functionality of how they warm air and create the incredible illusion of a real flame.
  • Operating Your Fireplace With Your Smartphone – We show you how you can use the smartphone to set the temperature setting on the thermostat, the ideal room temperature for you, and how you can press the power button on and off from the comfort of your couch.

The Common Misconceptions Of Electric Fireplaces

There are several misconceptions about electric fireplaces that keep many people from realizing how great of an option they are for your home and how simple they are to work. Let’s break down these myths:

Myth #1: Electric Fireplaces Are Difficult To Install

Electric Fireplaces are actually incredibly easy to install. Most of the time you simply have to place it where you want it located and plug it into a standard 120-volt electrical outlet. The only time you may need to even call an electrician is if you want to place it in a spot that doesn’t currently have an outlet and you don’t want to run a long extension cord. Even this small project is faster and cheaper than the construction involved with installing a fireplace that burns wood or gas.

Myth #2: Electric Fireplaces Don’t Put Out Enough Heat

This is another common misconception that just isn’t true with most electric fireplaces. The heating element on a quality electric fireplace can put out as much or more heat than a real fire from either wood or gas. Electric fireplaces are much more than just simple space heaters.

Myth #3: Electric Fireplaces Cost Too Much To Run

Many people don’t realize that electric fireplaces are actually one of the most cost-effective ways to heat your home when it comes to a fireplace. Buying wood or running gas to a fireplace will usually cost significantly more to heat your home than good quality electric fireplaces.

Myth #4: Electric Fireplaces Are Complicated To Operate

Electric fireplaces are very easy to operate. Many have remote controls with large buttons and smartphone apps that are very intuitive to use. It’s as simple as turning it on or off, setting the temperature to your liking, choosing what flames you want, and controlling the crackling log sounds. It couldn’t be easier.

Myth #5: Electric Fireplaces Don’t Look Realistic Enough

While there are some cheap mechanical electric fireplaces that simply spin some LED lights or reflect light bulbs, electric fireplaces have come a long way. Now you have incredible fireplaces with holographic technology that is almost indistinguishable from a more traditional style fireplace.

The Downsides Of A Traditional Fireplace

Let’s talk about all of the downsides that come with people having traditional fireplaces in their homes. First, let’s list the common types of fireplaces that burn wood:

  • Open Hearth Fireplace – This is the most traditional type of fireplace found in homes. It has an open firebox where logs are burned and smoke escapes up the chimney.
  • Enclosed Fireplace – These are enclosed versions of fireplaces that burn wood. Slightly more heat efficient, they usually have a glass panel in the front so that people can still see the flame.
  • Wood Stove – Technically not a fireplace, but these can commonly be found in cabins. They burn wood to radiate heat into a small room and the top surface can be used for some basic cooking.
  • Fireplace Insert – This is a hybrid of an enclosed and open-hearth fireplace. These enclosed inserts are installed into the firebox of an open hearth so that people can get the benefits of an enclosed fireplace.

Despite the common belief of the contrary, fireplaces that burn wood are usually one of the most inefficient ways to heat your home. A lot of heat that is produced from burning wood escapes through the chimney. Additionally, open-hearth fireplaces usually need you to leave a window cracked so that air can consistently flow into the room to keep the flames burning hot. This allows more heat to escape and can cause a cold draft through that window.

Fireplaces that burn wood are the most dangerous type of fireplace for your home. With them comes a high chance of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Excess soot inside of the chimney can also catch fire, making homes with traditional fireplaces much more likely to suffer a tragic house fire.

Any kind of fireplace that burns wood requires a lot of hands-on work, maintenance, and regular cleaning. To simply keep the fire burning hot you have to continue stoking the flames and adding more logs. You need to regularly clean up the ash inside of these fireplaces. Additionally, at least a couple of times per year, you need to have a professional come and clean out your chimney.

Smoke can cause your clothes and furniture to stink as well as cause smoke stains on walls, the ceiling, and other surfaces.

Why A Gas Fireplace Isn’t The Best Alternative To A Wood Fireplace

Realizing that a fireplace that burns wood isn’t as great as it is commonly romanticized to be, some people instead choose to install a gas fireplace. While this is slightly better, it still isn’t the best alternative for your home. Here are the two types of gas fireplaces that are commonly found in people’s homes:

  • Direct Vented Built-In Gas Fireplaces – These are gas fireplaces that require venting. They often burn with an orange flame or a bright yellow flame.
  • Ventless Built-In Gas Fireplaces – These are gas fireplaces that don’t require any kind of ventilation. However, they do require a different type of gas that burns blue.

The first problem most people will have when thinking about installing a fireplace that burns gas in their home is that they need to have costly gas lines run to the fireplace. For direct vented fireplaces, they also need to have some kind of ventilation in the form of a pipe leading to the roof.

It’s true that gas fireplaces tend to burn a lot cleaner than fireplaces that burn wood. However, there is still a chance of carbon monoxide poisoning from an incomplete burn of the gas. These fireplaces can also cause an unpleasant gassy smell in your home.

The flames of gas-burning fireplaces look weak and have an unrealistic texture compared to fireplaces that burn wood. Additionally, the orange or yellow flames from direct-vented fireplaces don’t quite have realistic coloring. The blue glow of a ventless fireplace is completely artificial-looking and ruins a more traditional experience.

The Benefits Of An Electric Fireplace

There are several types of fireplaces that run on electricity and they all have their benefits. Here are the different types of electric fireplaces that are commonly installed in homes:

  • Electric Fireplace Mantel – A fireplace mantel is the most common type placed in homes. It usually comes as two pieces: the fireplace itself, and the mantel that encases it. Sometimes it is a singular unit. These can also be part of a TV stand or an entertainment center.
  • Wall-Mounted Electric Fireplaces – These units come with everything needed to hang them in your home. If you prefer these to lay flush in the wall, you can often also insert them into the drywall quite easily.
  • Modern Infrared Quartz Electric Fireplace Inserts – This is an electric fireplace insert that can be installed into an existing fireplace such as an open-hearth fireplace.
  • Freestanding Electric Fireplace – These are units that can easily be moved between rooms much like a space heater. Unfortunately, these tend to look the least authentic and the other types listed above are more popular with people who want the real thing.

Electric fireplaces are super easy to install. Usually, all you need to do is plug it in and turn it on. Unless you are trying to do something special with them as part of a home makeover, they don’t require any kind of construction to be done to your home.

Electric fireplaces don’t require any kind of ventilation due to not producing any harmful emissions.

Electric fireplaces are the most cost-effective solution when it comes to using a fireplace to heat your home. Using zone heating and multiple fireplaces, you can spend even less money heating a large home. Because of this, electric fireplaces basically pay for themselves over time.

Electrical fireplaces are much better at replicating traditional fireplaces that burn wood than gas fireplaces. A high-quality electric fireplace can easily be mistaken for the real thing by guests in your home. This is especially true if that electric fireplace has realistic crackling log sounds included with it.

Electric fireplaces are super easy to control with a remote or smartphone app. You don’t even need to get up from your seat.

working an electric fireplace

Why You Should Consider A MagikFlame Electric Fireplace

If choosing an electric fireplace for your home is starting to sound like a great idea, you should highly consider going with a MagikFlame electric fireplace.

These fireplaces produce some of the most realistic fire effects compared to other electric fireplaces on the market. They use a unique holographic flame technology where they project the flames onto a physical log set. Each MagikFlame can produce 30 different amazing flame effects so that you can choose the right flames for the mood.

MagikFlame also has realistic crackling log sounds to truly give you the authentic fireplace experience. These audio effects, along with the flames, can easily be controlled with a simple app on your smartphone.

If that weren’t enough, MagikFlame has a heater built into it that produces 5,200 BTUs of heat, enough to keep your home nice and toasty during an especially cold winter.

Each MagikFlame comes with a full warranty.

How To Install An Electric Fireplace

Electric fireplaces are incredibly easy to install. First, find a place in the room where it will be located. This should be near an electrical outlet. Corner units should of course go in the corner.

Plug your electric fireplace into an electrical outlet, and that’s all there is to it.

If you are using an insert to convert your existing fireplace into an electric one, simply follow the instructions that come with your insert. For additional help, look up on YouTube to see demonstrations from professionals.

How An Electric Fireplace Works

For the visuals, electric fireplaces work in a variety of ways. The cheapest versions are mechanical and don’t look realistic. Slightly better is something like the Dimplex. The Dimplex Opti-Myst uses lights projected onto water vapor for a 3D effect. For the most realistic visuals, high-end fireplaces like MagikFlame uses holographic technology to project hologram flames onto a physical log set.

When it comes to heating, electric fireplaces usually work by convection. Cool air from the room is pulled into the fireplace. A heating coil then warms the air up. The warmed air is then gently released back into the room via a quiet blower.

Operating Your Fireplace With Your Smartphone

Electric Fireplaces like MagikFlame come with the ability to control them from your smartphone app via Bluetooth.

The app makes controlling the fireplace incredibly easy. When you open the app, you will see that it has large, visual buttons for all of the different options that your MagikFlame fireplaces come with. You can change the heat settings, and the visual type of the flames, switch between crackling log sounds or nature sounds, and easily turn your fireplace on or off.

When you wake in your bedroom in the morning, you can simply turn your fireplace on out in the main room so that the room is warm by the time that you get there. When you are ready to retire for the night, you can also easily turn the fireplace off once you are cozy in your bed.                                          

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European Style White Electric Fireplace Mantel & Insert with Sound and Heater
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