We all love the flickering flame of the electric fireplace and the strong ambiance it provides our rooms with. But we also want a fireplace that can give us heat to warm up our house in the cold seasons and nights.
So, our question is: does an electric fireplace produce heat?
Most of the electric fireplaces act as great heat radiators- even to the point of replacing the gas and wood burning models. They can work incredibly well to warm up your room or little any other great heater out there.
Let’s discuss more information on how an electric gives off heat…
How The Heat is Generated By Electric Fireplace
Since an electric fireplace does not produce an actual flame, the heat comes from an incorporated infrared or electric heater.
The heater effectively draws in the cold air in the room where you’ve installed the electric unit and warms it up. The hot air is then released back into the room using the fan-forced mechanism.
More cold air is drawn in, and the warming continues.
The unit converts all the air drawn in to heat directly, making it the most efficient fireplace today. As a matter of fact, it has a heat efficiency rating of 99%.
It’s also important to note that during the heating process, no emissions are released into the room. This makes the electric model completely safe for your home and environmental friendly.
Cost Saving Factors of Electric Fireplace
One good thing about the electric fireplaces is that they are energy efficient, unlike the gas and wood burning models.
For instance, they let you turn on the realistic flame only without generating heat. In this way, you can still run the unit throughout the year, even in the hot summer months. Or if you don’t need any supplemental heat in your home, you can still enjoy the “fire.”
When you run an electric chimney without heat (Flame-Only Mode), it will cost you less to run. You will enjoy the dancing flames at only pennies an hour!
Additionally, many individuals tend to overlook the cost of maintenance when looking for and comparing the options available. Electric chimneys require little or no maintenance, repair, servicing or installation of new parts. In this manner, they’ll serve you for a long time with less cost.
How Well Does An Electric Fireplace Heat?
Most individuals believe that the wood and gas burning hearths release more heat than the electric models.
While that might be true, we should also remember that a lot of that heat is useless as it escapes through the chimney.
It would, therefore, be correct to say that electric fireplace is the most energy efficient since they don’t a lose any of the heat they produce (remember they’re ventless).
Another variable to consider when contrasting an electric model is that the more power it utilizes, the more heat it will be able to produce – but the more cash it will cost you to run it as well.
More Facts on Electric Fireplaces and Heat
Because the unit operates on 120V, with a maximum of a 1500W draw, it produces a maximum heat value of 5000 BTUs.
This is more than enough heat to take the chill off a room of approximately 400 square feet. However, note that there are more excellent models – though fewer- that operates on 240V to generate a higher heat value.
Heat production in the electric fireplace does not depend on combustion. This means that no substances are burning inside the unit. The flames you see are just illusions created by LED lights.
Therefore, there is no risk of carbon monoxide getting into your house. It also means that you don’t need to spend money on the installation of chimney or vent system for your fireplace.
The electric fireplace is 99% (100% actually) – all they heat it generates stays in the room since there is no vent connecting it to the outside.
This place the electric models on the winning edge compared to gas and wood models which lose between 20 and 30% of the heat they generate through the chimney.
Most people tend to think that electric fireplaces do not give off the heat because they don’t get hot. But this is not the case. The fact that they remain cool to the touch is safety measure put in place protect your kids and pets from getting hurt.
Electric fireplaces are incredible zone heaters. You can use them to heat specific areas of your room, without overheating the rest of your house. You simply take them where you need heat as they’re compact and portable.
And given that these units cost way too less to operate than other fireplaces (approximately $50-$80 per year compared to $350 per year) zone heating will significantly lower your heating bills.
The Biggest Benefits of an Electric Fireplace
By far, the biggest benefit of an electric fireplace is that it can be placed in any home. This is regardless of whether or not the home has access to or the ability to install a real fireplace. It is also incredibly easy for you to take your fireplace with you if you move house, so it’s a great investment that you can always take with you.
When using a real fireplace, there is always a constant demand to keep up a stock of coal or wood, which can be very dusty and messy.
There is almost zero effort involved with owning and using an electric fireplace. Turning the fire on or adjusting the settings is as simple as pushing a button, often on a remote. This means that you can adjust the temperature from the comfort of your couch.
No heat is lost with an electric fireplace as the heat is not able to escape out of the chimney as it does with a real fireplace. This means that electric fireplaces are very efficient.
Another major benefit of using an electric fireplace is the safety of it. There is no danger of burning and most electric fireplaces have safe-to-touch glass so even if you have children, there is no need to worry about accidental burns. There’s no need to worry about the fire getting out of control and chimney fires are also not an issue.
Conclusion
An electric fireplace releases an incredible amount of heat- enough to heat up to 400 square feet space. The unit is incredibly energy efficient and requires minimal maintenance.
Also, it introduces an ambiance into your room with its realistic flames. To enjoy maximum performance from your electric fireplace without spending an enormous amount of cash, don’t attempt to heat up a huge space whose ceilings are too high.
Rather, use the unit to warm a small to average size rooms- up to 500 square feet. They’ll be best used for ambiance purposes only in the larger rooms.