Electric fireplaces have been heavily used in our homes. They are known to occupy less space but have more heating efficiency. They do not cost much to install, and their maintenance needs are low. They are also easy to use and have features that are mostly automated. So, is an electric fireplace considered a space heater? This is what we will be looking at and trying to make out the difference between the two.
Anytime you upgrade your living space with a little additional coziness, ambiance, and warmth, safety should be a top priority.
According to a 2019 report, local fire departments responded to about 44,800 home fires that were caused by an electrical malfunction every year between 2012 and 2016. These fires caused an average of 440 deaths and 1250 injuries every year, and annual property damage of $1.3 billion. Most of these fires took place in the cold season, from November to February. Other fires involved lighting equipment and electrical distribution and were often caused by short circuits from worn or defective insulation.
Whenever you are buying an electric fireplace, you must look for the safety features and compliance standards available in the form of a UL certification. This means that the insert fireplace has been tested for all potential hazards and approved that it meets all the criteria.
What is an electric fireplace?
Best Electric fireplaces are better than space heaters in many ways. They are safer by far and have been built with comfort and convenience in mind. As such, they provide the best value for your money and will not stress you or frustrate you while you use them. Their adjustable flame effect is also a great feature and way better than a typical propane gas fireplace or a wood fireplace.
First, an electric fireplace for the bedroom can provide you with years of service without requiring any maintenance. Models such as the Napoleon Cinema 24 and MagikFlame can give you the warmth and style you need at a very affordable price. Owing to their easy and effortless installation options, they are also cheaper to install without the hassle of getting an electrician. They can go directly into a recessed wall or below an existing mantel. Plugin and you are ready to use the electric fireplace.
Space heaters do not provide a fantastic ambiance and will not be a feasible way to add value for any prospective home buyer. A stylish electric fireplace insert, in comparison, will be sure to attract comments and praise from your guests. There are also different-sized fireplaces for tighter and more limited spaces in your home.
The convenience associated with an electric fireplace means one doesn’t need to clean out the residue from the fireplace. You can also heat the room quickly with the remote control included with many electric fireplaces. Some of the models even go ahead and provide you with low-maintenance operations using built-in thermostats. These are known to adjust the heat levels automatically, and you can use them without interruptions.
A space heater keeps you on edge when you have pets or kids around. They can trip its power cord, and some items can turn into a fire hazard when they are in contact with the best space heater. In contrast, an electric fireplace stove should not worry you as it comes with sufficient safety features included. Even when you are not around, you don’t need to turn it off as it has automatic safety.
The installation process for your duraflame electric fireplace is simple, and you don’t need additional help to do it. You can install it all by yourself, and the instructions are straightforward. The entire installation process can take anywhere from half an hour to two hours, and the result is a fully working fireplace. You get to add ambiance and warmth to your living room quickly and even when you are renting a home. You can still have the electric fireplace installed.
Space heaters do not provide enough heat, and you will often find yourself and family members huddled close to it when there is a drop in the temperature. In comparison, a standard electric fireplace is capable of producing 1500 BTU of heat. This is sufficient to heat about 500 square feet of space, and you can use the built-in thermostat or remote control for temperature regulation. For decoration and superficial appearances, you can leave the realistic flame on and leave the heat off. This is great for giving your living room and home an appearance makeover that people will be attracted to and appreciate.
Important Safety Tips for Electric Fireplaces
If you feel that the electric fireplace stove is too warm for the living room, you need to turn down the thermostat.
You should also avoid touching hot surfaces with bare skin, which is likely to cause injuries and grievous bodily harm.
Ensure your cords are correctly insulated and unplugged if you are away from home for considerable periods.
Electric fireplaces such as those found in a MagikFlame electric fireplace complete buying guide or Duraflame fireplaces are considered safer than space heaters. This is because of how MagikFlame is built and the safety standards in the design and manufacturing process. They do not overheat, and their safety features do not require venting or a chimney since there is no carbon monoxide emission. Automatic shut-off features prevent overheating, and the heating element is always kept safe behind a glass surface.
What are Space Heaters?
You might need a most efficient space heater to offset the chill in a windy room. The space heaters are known to deliver an immediate temperature rise to any room, and this builds steadily and spreads evenly across the room in a short period. They are also quieter and compact enough to act as a freestanding heating option for your home, which can be conveniently tucked into a corner and other small spaces. The space heater’s plastic exterior is always cool to the touch, and you do not have to worry about safety. However, some buyers consider it very cold, and most seem to have problems with airflow from the fan. The heat from the space heater only goes in a single direction, with the blasts from the blower getting a little out of control.
Some space heaters are more detailed than others, with features such as control panels that provide easy navigation and remote controls. Others have timers and an auto eco setting for better energy efficiency. They can act as supplemental heat for cold seasons. The fans act as an internal cooling feature, which is an excellent bonus for the space heater.
It would help if you plugged the electric space heaters directly into the wall outlet. Always read the instructions before attempting to use an extension cord. When you are buying the space heater, look for a model that has a tip-over safety switch. This switch is essential and automatically shuts off the heater. Some of the extension cords are also equipped with thermal protection that shuts down the appliance in an overheated cord.
Electrical safest space heaters are more costly to operate than combustion stoves and wood stoves. They are also the only invented heaters that are safe for use inside your home. However, they are still a burn and fire hazard and must be used with caution. It would be best if you never left them on while they are unattended. The heating element in the electric space heater can get warm, and children should stay 3-5 feet from it.
Borrowing from the MagikFlame story, MagikFlame has 5200 BTU of output with its built-in heater. The manufacturer recommends not to use extension cords, and the unit needs to be plugged into the electrical outlet directly. The space heaters should also not be left unattended, and unless they are designed for it, you should never use them in a bathroom. To be safe, always look through the instructions that come with the space heater.
To prevent fires, always turn off the space heater and never leave it running unattended. You should also not sleep with it running overnight and always keep a close eye on its operations to prevent it from being knocked over. The heater draws a considerable amount of current from the power sources and is always a substantial electrical hazard to any toddler. It would help if you did not put the space heater on a rug or elevated surfaces such as stools, tables, and shelves.
The space heater should always be on the floor without any flammable or combustible materials in the vicinity. When you buy the space heater, look for timer features integrated and intelligent controls to safely operate it. Innovative features include voice command integrations, which you can add through accessories available on the Amazon marketplace or Amazon website.
Differences between an electric fireplace and a space-heater
To answer our hot question of the post; is an electric fireplace considered a space heater; we will compare the two and arrive at our conclusion.
For starters, the space-heater is portable from one room to another, and you can go with it anywhere you want to stay warm in. This means they are light and portable appliances that you can take with you. In contrast, a wall-mount electric fireplace heater is a permanent source of heat, and once it has been installed in any location of your home, you cannot move it around. This makes the electric fireplace a permanent feature, whereas you can move the space heater around.
A space heater is a cheaper and more affordable means of heating a home. You don’t have to save for a long time to be able to get one. However, an electric fireplace is much costlier in comparison, and you will be required to set aside a considerable amount of money before you can buy one for your home. This means that the investment put into the space heater is little compared to what you will have to part with for the electric fireplace.
Space heaters are considered a temporary solution and are not effective at heating large spaces. You have to stay relatively close to the space heater to enjoy its heat, and the temperature climbs steadily the more it is left on. The wall mounted electric fireplace, in comparison, is a more permanent solution and is capable of heating large spaces. The fireplace spreads its heat evenly in the room it is installed in and ensures that all the room occupants can get comfortable in a relatively short amount of time.
In terms of application areas, electric fireplaces should be used in areas where the temperature is known to drop severely. You can use it in combination with an electrical space heater for the severely cold winters. This enables you to maintain an actual temperature that will keep your home from freezing in these seasons. space-heaters can be effective only when used safely or when they only heat a small area. However, they are not effective means of heating in freezing seasons or large areas. The space heaters only manage to dissipate their heat to a limited area of the room, while electric fireplaces will, over time, spread heat evenly across the whole room.
So, is an electric fireplace considered a space heater? These two are not the same thing, and from the differences that have been outlined in this section, we see they are vastly different and do not offer the same set of functionalities or benefits to the homeowners. A space heater and an electric fireplace will provide varied heating functionalities to the users and cannot be the same. This is very important to keep in mind and ensures that you can differentiate between the two.
Best Recommendation for a Heating Solution: Space-Heater vs. Electric Fireplace
Our discussion is an electric fireplace considered a space heater; let us examine the main conclusions we can glean from the discussion above. We then get to make some final recommendations for heating solutions that are perfect for your needs. We also look at some of the reasons that we support one option over the other and how this makes itself evident in the long term.
A space heater is only considered a wise option when you are alone in the home and are moving around a lot. Its portability means that you can move it around whenever you like, and it will not limit you to spending all your time in some of the rooms of the house. Moving with it is simple as it is light enough to carry, and the set-up process is simple enough. However, it is not a good option for providing heat to more family members. Not everyone will enjoy the comfort, coziness, and convenience provided by the space heater. A space heater resembles a firebox in many ways, but its design is very different from that of an electric fireplace. This is because it is meant to be used differently, and the design optimizes it for the functions it provides.
Additionally, the space-heater will not cost you much in terms of electricity bills. It consumes considerably less energy to generate heat, and with this in mind, you will not need to be worried about expenses. The space heater’s energy requirements are vastly different from those of the electric fireplace, which is one reason people are convinced to purchase the space heater for their heating purposes. However, the cost reduction also means a massive reduction in the utility derived from the space heater, which should factor into your equation as you make the purchase decision.
space-heaters can be positioned anywhere you need to be, and for those moments when you need to be safely tucked away in the corner of the room and need to maximize heat utility, you are free to do so. In effect, you will be free to choose the visual and decoration effect you want to create with your space heater, and you are not limited to certain positions or locations of the home. This freedom of position might be a reason for you to opt for it as a heating method for your home, but it has safety concerns associated with it. Placing the space heater anywhere means that you will often be exposed to fire hazards, and you are always on edge about where you are positioning the heater. You are also tense whenever there are children around, considering the safety hazards it presents owing to its portable and easily accessible nature.
Let us ask ourselves the main question again; is an electric fireplace considered a Space Heater Electric? An electric fireplace requires a lot of design consideration before installing it into any position of the home. This is because the fireplace will not be able to move around once it has been installed. Once it has been set up, you will not be able to shift its location, which means you have to think carefully before installing it at your home. In total contrast to a space-heater, the wall-mounted electric fireplace will distribute heat to all the places it can reach evenly. As such, it can comfortably warm all occupants of a home and is known to be way better than space heaters.
Large-sized families should always opt for the electric fireplace over the space-heater as it will prevent overcrowding into corners or huddling too close. The electric fireplaces have their comfort and convenience, making them a safer and easier option than the space-heater.
For any home size, you can install the electric fireplace in a position where it is safely away from the other items in the home. You can install it with a dedicated source of power connected to it, and with this in place, it stays safe and does not present any safety concerns to your other electrical equipment. Heat distribution is always even when you are working with the electric fireplace, and all family members get to enjoy the heat and comfort that it provides. According to MagikFlame reviews, the installation process is simple, and you can be up and running in no time.
It is much better and cost-effective to have a single electric fireplace installed in a convenient location of your home compared to several space heaters shared across the family members. The space heaters will require constant attention while the electric fireplaces can be left all night and not pose any danger. The electric fireplace is safer and has automated features for turning it off when it has overheated. This prevents home fires that have been caused by electrical faults and caused the loss of life and injuries. You can also time or schedule the fireplace to turn off automatically for specific durations. Not only does this prove to be convenient, but it also reduces heating costs when there are no people in the home.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, an electric fireplace may require more complicated payment plans and financing, but the benefits that it provides to family members are considerable. They are better than traditional fireplaces, and if you are asking yourself, are electric fireplaces safe? They indeed are. Their power supply is safely and neatly hidden behind the rest of the decoration details, and there are no exposed cords or wires to trip kids and pets up. It also doesn’t overheat and has no real flames or a real fire. The infrared quartz display and LED lights provide a modern look to the fireplace that is great for your home. It is safer and more cost-effective in the long run as compared to a space heater.
