Advantages and Disadvantages to Electric Fireplaces

There is nothing like coming home out of the snow to a cup of hot chocolate and a warm armchair by the fireplace. For years, the fireplace was one of the sole means of heating a home. Now, with the emergence of central heating, there is no longer a need for a fireplace, other than for the cozy appearance. In a way, it is safer not to have a live fire going in a wooden house, but still the warmth of the fire place may hold a special place in your heart. The good news is that you can still have a fireplace, but without the hard work of chopping wood and lighting a fire. With electric fireplaces, you can now have all the appearance and warmth of the fireplace without the danger or work.

There are several key advantages and disadvantages to having an electric fire place. To its advantage, the electric heater is more convenient than normal fireplaces. Also, it eliminates the need for a chimney and all the work that cleaning the chimney entails. In addition, if your home does not have a fireplace, you could easily have one installed, without remodeling the entire house to include a way for smoke to escape.

On the flip side, an electric fireplace heater is expensive to buy. The cost of electric fireplace logs, or other such paraphernalia is a lot more than the cost of a simple electric heater. Also, they cannot be exposed to weather conditions. In addition, electric heater fireplaces are not as efficient as real ones. Because they rely on electricity to power the heat, light, wind etc, that is involved in impersonating a real fireplace, a lot of the same heat that a real fire provides is lost.

However many the disadvantages, though, many home owners prefer the convenience of modern fireplaces powered by electricity. The scope for decorative imagination is so much more when you are not limited by tearing down half the house to put up a chimney. Some decorative arrangements include the contemporary built in fire hearth and electric log inserts, both of which can look very beautiful. The ambiance that both of these fireplace designs provide in a room is tremendous and can add a lot of warmth to any living room or bedroom. Here are some more different types of electric fire places and how they can match your living room or bed room.

The electric firebox insert is one of the many designs that use a sort of optical illusion to create the appearance of real fire, while the heaters within radiate warmth throughout the room. Another is the wall mount electric fireplace which gives a contemporary style room an archaic feel. Smokeless fire appears in through the opening in the wall where it is mounted. If you like you also have the option of putting glowing logs that make it look like actual coals of burning wood. Prices for any of the above products can range anywhere from 250 dollars for a simple piece to over 900 for a more complex design.