Traditional fireplaces are a pain to get started and even harder to keep going. That’s why I've tested the best electric fireplaces on amazon. So trust me, when warmth and convenience matters, electric is where it’s at!
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. R.W.FLAME - Recessed and Wall-Mounted Electric Fireplace
Top-rated: 7,717 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Touch screen and remote control.
Helpful review: "This is a very striking fireplace. I read some of the other reviews that there is a clicking noise that comes from their unit. Unfortunately I read about that after I bought the unit. I had my fingers crossed that I would receive one that didn’t make that sound. I had read other reviews stating that they had no problems with a clicking sound coming from the fireplace.
When it arrived, I decided to test it out and indeed my unit was making a clicking sound also. If you do receive a unit that does this, there is a fix for it and it only takes a few minutes. Take the glass off and then turn the fireplace upside down. Take the bottom panel off which will be 9 or so screws. Plug the fireplace in and then turn it on. You will see a rod that has these little reflective plastic pieces. What happens is that these pieces rub when the rod turns in a circle. All you have to do is take note of which ones are rubbing and just take a nail clipper and just trim them a bit. It’s probably no more than 2 or 3 of them. Once you’ve done that and you no longer hear the noise, just put the panel back on and everything should be fine. I hope this helps anyone who is having a problem with a clicking noise coming from their fireplace. The fireplace gives off a good amount of heat. It won’t cook you but makes the room very warm and comfortable.
A FEW WORDS FROM A NEIGHBOR:
We were replacing an older propane fireplace and researched every option...new propane, electric fireplace, no fireplace. My first choice was to get a linear propane fireplace, but that would have cost between $7k-$10k to do right. Living in upstate NY a winter power failure can get dicey, so a propane fireplace made sense. But we have a powerful propane pot heater for such occasions, so we nixed that option.
We saw the electric fireplaces in a showroom that were around $2k...still too much when you consider the prices you find for many brands on Amazon.
We went with this based on reviews, especially a video made by a guy who has installed many who said he thought the flame looked most realistic on this brand. I was concerned that the whole thing would look more like a cheap toy than a fireplace, but we pulled the trigger. I am happy with the look of the flame but I was not too thrilled with the way the LEDs looked through the clear crystals. Hubby searched (on Amazon) and found black iridescent crystals for under $9. They made a big difference, but still there were some reflections in the back mirror of points of light from LEDs. I ran black electrical tape along the edge of the tray and the front seam where the tray meets the frame… And voila!... No more weird dots and the whole thing looks sooo much better!!!
As for heat, do not expect this to put out the heat of a fireplace. It is not designed for that. However it is enough to take the chill off the room on a brisk spring or fall morning/evening, or augment your house heat. The unit looks really nice and sleek along our wall with new built-in shelves, fireplace and mantel. Overall we are very pleased with the way the project turned out and with this purchase, and the way it integrates with the wall system overall...especially with the tweaks we made." — Lori Psyni
Get it from Amazon now: $299.99 & FREE Returns
2. Duraflame - Electric Infrared Quartz Fireplace with 3D Flame Effect
Top-rated: 12,253 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Flame effect can be operated with or without heat.
Helpful review: "First of all, let me share with you a little bit about why I want this heater for my home.
We have an older home (about 75 years old) with hardwood/cement floors (no carpet), older storm windows and 3 interior doors leading to the outside. Last year I had the house 'weatherized' and this year I've put up thermal curtains in all the windows, have added medium size rugs in most rooms, and also covered one of the doors leading outside with plastic.
Winters here the temps drop into the low 20's on snowy nights and highs range between 30's and 50's for December, January and the first part of February. Those are the coldest months for us. Normally we would use a 22-year-old Central Heat/Air unit that sits on top of the house for all our heating but over the last few years that has become unreliable.
The last plumber/electrician I called out when the unit stopped working was hesitant to touch the unit because he said it is a 'electrical nightmare' (a handyman of the previous house owner spliced wires and connected them in unsafe ways to repair the unit and now it has become dangerous for electricians and plumbers to repair). This year the unit has gone out again. I would like to avoid paying $300 for another plumber to come out and 'patch' up the unit enough for it to work hopefully the entire winter (last year the plumber said it was iffy if the unit would last the entire winter).
For me, the issue is keeping my old home warm this winter without the use of the Central Heat unit. Normally my gas/electric bill for the coldest months range on average $170 combined, so my goal is to stay below that cost per month with Zone Heating using space heaters in the rooms we use the most.
I have done lots of research on Zone Heating to warm homes without the use of any other Central Heating units and the cost is supposed to be lower, but that I am not able to say because this is my winter without Central Heating.
My reasons for picking this heater is because I wanted something that will stay cool to the touch and is hard to knock over because I have a 3-year-old and cats that are curious about anything in the house and I don't want any of them getting burned. I wanted a heater that would comfortably warm an ice cold room (old house, it gets very cold) both day and night and one that will last not only this winter but the next winter too.
I don't want anything with plastic around it because an older infrared heater we had was plastic casing and the control knobs melted off the top of it.
I wanted a heater that has a reputable name, is metal, not plastic, will also have the fireplace look to it, because I have always wanted a fireplace and the ability to move it around (has to be light).
This heater is light, easy to move from one room to the other. Large enough to heat comfortably and quickly a medium size bedroom and quiet enough to leave on while sleeping. You can hear the fan but it is not much louder than most fan heaters and projects heat at least 3 feet in front of the unit but in a closed room it will comfortably warm the room. Cool to the touch, except a little warm on the top front where the heat comes out, but not hot to burn small hands or an animal. One of my cats likes to lay on top of the heater while it is on. The front door is glass and so are the sides. The unit is all metal, except the legs that are easy to attach.
I'd recommend this heater. I am in the process of buying a couple more for the other bedrooms and smaller rooms in my home.
UPDATE:
Here's a little update. It's been about 5 months now since buying this heater. Our winter was terribly cold & being the first year without central heat the entire house was freezing. I used this heater in the bedroom where me and my 3 year old sleep. It kept us very warm at night even during the coldest of nights (lowest at night was 9 degrees F).
What I want to add to my initial review is that using space heaters to zone heat will make your electric bill go up. My electric bill for the entire month it was freezing cold came out to be $280 when normally with central heat (both gas & electric) it would be under $200. I did run 4 space heaters (this one, a Lasko, and a radiator heater, plus one small 1500 watt utility heater) in 2 bedrooms, the living room & the washroom.
We are still in some cold weather and I have learned to close off rooms that are not used, also put up curtains to close off rooms without a door (like the hallway that connects to the living room and the kitchen door that goes into the den) which helps to keep the warm air in that certain area without allowing in drafts. Closing off sections of the house we are not using in the cold days and nights has helped greatly to keep the rooms we are in warmer.
This heater has worked well since the first day and I think it will last many winters to come. it is one of the best heaters I have and would buy again from this brand." — Cat Lawrence
Get it from Amazon now: $299.99 & FREE Returns
3. PuraFlame - Western Electric Fireplace Insert with Fire Crackling Sound
Top-rated: 4,141 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: A supplemental heater for up to 400 sq. ft.; remote control for easy operation.
Helpful review: "I really have no complaints about this 26" version that I recessed into a wall. The flame pattern and flickering log set are very real especially when viewing from further away. Other reviews are correct about how well made and sturdy the firebox is. Upon unboxing I just plugged it in and turned it on.
The white power cord is connected to the upper left side of the unit (if you are looking the back end) and extends about 5 feet. In my case, I cut a hole in a wall slightly larger than the size of the fire box and slipped it in. The cut out was made directly in front of an open space behind the wall which happens to be below a staircase landing. So I had plenty of room for at least 8 inches of depth for the unit.
I left about an inch and a half of space between the top of the unit and underneath the top wall cutout. Be advised the inside top of the unit gets very warm when the heat is on high so I will be keeping a close eye on heat build up inside that wall. I can always install a strip of cement board to prevent heat from going up the inside wall.
For power I am fortunate this unit is installed about 12 inches above the ceiling in my basement so I ran a dedicated line/receptacle to the ceiling joist and dropped the power cord through a hole in the floor. Wires are totally concealed. Keep in mind this is a glorified space heater so plugging into a plug nearby should be fine as long as there is not too much on that circuit. Because of resistance and voltage drop over length it is never a good idea to use an extension cord for any electrical heat.
The unit simply slides in and there is no need to anchor the frame to the wall unless you drill noticeable holes in the front of the frame. Although the weight of the unit keeps it in place inside the wall I may make a shelf so the back bottom surface can rest. The top, left and right sides have a 1 inch lip; there is no lip on the bottom. I can very easily pull the unit forward from the top and extract it from the cut out if needed for any reason but, as long as the unit works well, I may just caulk the bottom edge and leave it alone.
Heat is blown from the upper left of the unit and the fan is very quiet on high; kind of like the sound of forced air through ceiling vents in a quiet room or computer fan. The room is about 13 X 9 and the ceiling height is about 9 feet and there are 3 good sized windows in the room with lounge chairs directly in front of the windows.
There are also two long, forced hot water baseboards for regular heat. The windows in this room (they are about 10 years old) make it drafty in there on very cold days (if highs are in the 20s F) so we hope this will help.
I don't think it would heat the room very well if only this unit was used. In fact, I was slightly disappointed with the heat output but a stronger fan would have meant more noise. So we'll see how it goes. That said, if you just came in from being out in the cold and stood in front of the unit it will help to warm you up more quickly." — Jason Kunda
Get it from Amazon now: $359.99 & FREE Returns
4. Touchstone - In-Wall Recessed WiFi-Enabled Electric Fireplace
Top-rated: 594 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Includes faux fire logs and crystals to create an authentic feel.
Helpful review: "Let me start off by saying we are very happy with the fireplace and would not hesitate to buy it again or to recommend it. I'm an engineer and I do have a few nitpicks with the unit.
1) The size of the unit is 18" high. The manual says to use a cutout size of 18.25" which we did. This creates a small inconvenience. Each row of the stones we used for the facing is 6" high. This means that instead of simply using 3 rows of stones (3 x 6" = 18") we had to use 3 rows then cut off 1/4" from the next row. Most tiles/stones are going to be 2", 3", 6", etc high and if the required cutout was simply 18" it would be a nice even multiple of rows. Instead one row needs to be trimmed 1/4" which is inconvenient. If the back case were simply 1/4" shorter than the opening it could be an even 18" instead of 18.25" making it easier to put up stones, tiles, whatever behind the fireplace.
2) This isn't unique to this fireplace because they're all basically like this. I want a switch either on the back or behind the glass to turn-off and disable the heater. I bought this for the decor and not for heat. I don't want heat, I don't need heat and I don't want the kids to accidentally turn on the heat. Please give people a way to install and use the fireplace without worrying that someone will hit the wrong button and accidentally turn on the heat.
3) The remote itself is okay. Nothing fancy but it's more than adequate. What I don't get is the "random" arrangement of the buttons. What I mean is that both the "embers" and the "flame" have two adjustments: color and brightness. That's good but the buttons for this are randomly placed on the remote. The buttons for the ember adjustments are side-by-side, while the buttons for the flame adjustments are one over the other. Why the inconsistency? Place the remote buttons for color and brightness either next to each other or above each other. Instead one set of color & brightness buttons are positioned vertically and the other set are positioned horizontally.
Those are my minor complaints. I'm still giving the fireplace 5-stars because we really like how it looks and it performs very nicely. The flames look great and we are very happy with our choice and wouldn't hesitate to purchase this again.
MY FRIEND’S REVIEW:
We got the 60” elite version after looking at all the other competitors. This one looks best and is super easy to mount. The remote could be a lot better (confusing icons), but once you set the colors you like, then you probably just use the remote to turn it on or off. I put my fireplace on a Insteon home control light switch so I can use voice control to turn it on and off, and program it to come on and off as desired. Note, these things are mostly for visual effect and add only marginal heat to a room.
To add some more details, the advertisement mentions the highest heat setting is 1500 Watts, yet we measured it to actually be about 1200 Watts (10 amps at 120VAC) in the highest setting, which actually I prefer to have the additional margin on a typical 15 amp circuit. I measured the Wattage of the visual effects, with heater off to be a surprisingly low 15-20 Watts for the LED lighting and flame effects motor combined. Thus, very little electricity cost when it is on for visual effects only.
We also like the thinner border around the fireplace instead of some other models or other competitors with wide side frames. Of course this means you need to more accurately install tile around the fireplace since there will be only 1/2 inch overlap on each side of the frame. Although I would recommend having a contractor to install this unit, I will say I did all of the framing, tile work and installation by myself with no help, and I am an electronics engineer, not a contractor. It was easy and fun.
I especially chose this model because it retains some settings when turning off the fireplace with a 120 VAC wall switch and later turning it back on. It remembers the flame speed, flame color, log set color, flame intensity and log set intensity. I never use the remote (just use the switch or Alexa voice control that I optionally installed).
Lastly, we got fast and friendly support from the knowledgeable person when we called to ask a couple simple questions.
The only other thing we would prefer that isn't in a lot of these types of fireplaces is an optional realistic sound effect of burning logs. Guessing that will be a future feature some day. We would buy this unit again. Nicely designed." — David L. Stewart
Get it from Amazon now: $1,199.00 & FREE Returns
5. Amerlife - TV Stand with 36" Electric Fireplace
Top-rated: 1,501 ratings | 149 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Includes the closed storage cabinet.
Helpful review: "Happy with the purchase and price overall. Here’s are my comments:
1. Assembly by a single, skilled person is possible
2. Make sure, after assembly, to wipe out ALL surfaces THOROUGHLY! They were so dirty, like the pieces were going through a coal mine. NOT joking!
3. The fireplace glass extends over the small, covered shelving, to the sides. Before putting the fireplace in the doors on the sides do NOT line up with the shelves/opening. Was almost sure, and assumed they had packed the wrong size doors. Glad I measured and fortunately all fits nicely for 70” installation, once the fireplace is put in
4. only the two small doors seem like the nice polished surface I was assuming the top and the sides would be too.
5. Three main line/fire color settings( red, purple, blue), the separate LED light over the two open drawers have about 10-15 settings, green, different hues of the other colors, but are less than average bright, even using the 5 extra settings from the fireplace remote.
6. The surround lighting around the TV (shown on the video) is NOT from the fireplace/ TV stand. It is a separate product GOVEE T2, which also has remote control/ Iphone app for a huge number of options, but that is a separate product review
7. Haven't really used the heatting feature of the fireplace, just the visual crystal flames. However it seems to work, I just have not needed to use it for heat yet.
8. The two boxes are heavy! In fact the fireplace box seemed the lighter of the two. The packaging was good though and even though they were left in my apartment building, I only noticed two small surface scrapes during the installation.
9. Do not try to move or lift the boxes by yourself if you have any leg/atm/knee or other related health issues. A dolly might be of some help and even though I have a good one, the early delivery caught me by surprise. The TV stand package itself is the taller one, so hopefully your building has a big/tall elevator or you are on the first floor, otherwise a second person is highly advisable!!! Again, both packages are quite heavy for a single person.
10. Assembly is possible by a single person, someone who has reasonable handyman skills, can read and understand the instructions, and is careful handling the individual pieces. You will need to spread out the pieces to work comfortably.
UPDATE:
During the winter season, I had the opportunity to use the fireplace’s heating features as well: 2 power levels and a thermostat, both remote controlled (in addition to the built-in buttons inside one of the Fireplace’s recess openings). Comfortable heating👍 and didn't seem to overheat or cause issues for cables behind the TV stand. Running the Fireplace on the higher power setting , together with another 12Amp device will likely trip a standard 15A circuit breaker, when those sockets are on the same breaker.
A FEW WORDS FROM A FRIEND:
My daughter and I share an account so all emails go through her. The package came quickly but the status said it was running late. We soon realized the tv stand was delivered and the fireplace insert was in a separate package. I tracked the package and saw it was returned to the seller because it was damaged en route. I panicked and we put the TV stand together. I didn't want to have to return it if there was a problem! I contacted the seller and thought I didn't get a response, but later found that they immediately responded to my daughter's email address. All I had to do was confirm my shipping address and it was immediately sent. It only took a few days to come, and everything was so easy to assemble. I am completely in love with this whole setup! The flames and lights can change colors and the heat can be adjusted. I currently have it on a no heat setting because it is summer but will definitely want the heat during our cold winters!" — Denver Veiro
Get it from Amazon now: $249.98 & FREE Returns
6. BETELNUT - Ultra-Thin Wall-Mounted and Recessed Fireplace
Top-rated: 899 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Energy saving and ETL certificated..
Helpful review: "This is the second insert I've bought in the past few years. I built a fireplace with a 48" insert that performed great, and then we moved. I just built another fireplace with this 50" insert, and here are my findings:
The heat output is great. Some customers complain about the sound of the blower, but to me, I WANT to hear the blower; that tells me it's working and throwing the heat throughout the room. To me, that's not a place to knock the insert.
Removing the glass face is not easy or convenient. The screws that hold it in place are on the side of the unit, so you will have to pull the unit out of your fireplace an inch or two to access the screws to remove the glass face. It's not impossible, but it isn't convenient. Other inserts, like the one I had before, had access to the screws through the front of the insert.
This is an incredibly slim insert, making it ideal for those of us who didn't want to build out a huge structure.
What I wasn't as crazy about is the aesthetics: the "flames" don't go very high. In fact, they don't venture much higher than halfway. This isn't a huge deal, but something I noticed immediately as a big difference from my last insert. Another thing I'm not crazy about is how clearly the blower can be seen through the front of the insert.
I don't use them, but there are great color options. Although some people complain about the range of the remote, I don't experience that issue. I am able to easily control the insert with my remote.
The depth of the "fire bed" is very shallow as well. Other inserts allow you to manipulate the logs and use crystals as well. This is an either or option - the logs are a one-piece unit and there isn't any additional room to add the crystals. I'm thinking about looking into other options for the logs, I prefer the more realistic look of separated logs rather than a whole one-piece unit. Something that IS good about the fire bed is the lighting beneath. When lit, the underglow is impressive and quite realistic - this exceeds my previous insert.
All around - I'd say this is a great product. I was initially displeased, but now that I've lived with it for a couple of weeks, I've grown to enjoy it. I use it every evening as I wind down and each morning as I drink my coffee and gear up for the day. I would recommend this product.
A WORD FROM A FRIEND:
I purchased this after redoing my bedroom. My bedroom is in the lower part of the house and, as I am always colder than others in the house, I need something for some additional warmth. I purchased this one based on reviews. The shipping was fast and everything was delivered as expected. I mounted this between two windows and what folks were saying about the fire looking realistic is accurate. It's beautiful.
The remote that it comes with allows you to cycle through the different colors. It doesn't have a memory on color settings so after the unit is off, you will then have to cycle through the colors again to select your preference. There is a setting that you can select that will auto cycle the colors.
Heat output is great. I was able to turn on the fireplace, set at 70 and confirm that the unit cuts off the heat once it reaches 70 and will come back on if it gets cooler. There is also a timer to shut the unit off as well. Overall, I am really pleased with the price, form and function of this and so glad I purchased this." — Cody Delles
Get it from Amazon now: $335.99 & FREE Returns
7. Ameriwood Home - Chicago Electric Fireplace TV Console
Top-rated: 5,764 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: TV Stand is constructed of laminated particleboard and MDF and offers a rustic farmhouse espresso woodgrain finish.
Helpful review: "I bought this for myself and my fiancé after we thought a fireplace would look great under our TV and next to our cozy Christmas tree. I found this TV stand/fireplace combo, and instantly bought it, as it looked great in the photos, and had the fireplace included. It was exactly what we were looking for. I do woodworking on the side (specifically, I have made a good bit of furniture), and opted to buy something like this versus trying to build it during the busy holidays!
PACKAGING:
First opening the box, the stand was decently packaged. Everything was covered in a mess of Styrofoam though, and I think the glass door pieces could have been protected better, but ultimately everything was in excellent condition, except for the base. One end was pretty much busted off. I ended up drilling it together with some pocket holes. The base is all held together with plastic mending corners, most of which are stapled in. I was disappointed to see the base, which supports the weight of the entire unit, held together by staples.
Another piece that wasn't broken but annoyed me, was the top base, where the TV sets on. One routed end piece of it was not perfectly lined up, and had this ugly black gap in it. I disassembled it and reassembled it to rid it of the gap. Everything that came pre-assembled looked very rushed and thrown together.
ASSEMBLY:
This is a more difficult piece to assemble. If you haven't put together furniture before, this might be a little over your head to put together. There's a lot of pieces to it, and a lot of locking mechanisms that have to be perfectly centered up and hammered into place, or the unit can't be assembled correctly. I recommend having a power drill and rubber mallet in your possession to put it together in a non-destructive and timely manner.
POST ASSEMBLY:
This is a beautiful piece of furniture. There are quite a few small gaps in spots after assembly, but most can be hidden with a furniture putty gap filler. The biggest downside, to me, are the doors. Not only are they not properly sized for the stand, but the hinges are cheap, low quality hinges. The adjusting screws on one were broken, forcing me to use a washer to try to level out the door, forcing me to have both doors to have an ugly black gap to look even with each other.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This is a great TV stand, and I would buy it again! It is a beautiful, realistic looking (wood grain) piece of furniture. The pickiness regarding the gaps and doors are largely coming from the woodworker in me, but I felt they were still important to point out. If you want an absolutely perfect piece of furniture out of the box, this is not for you. But if you enjoy assembling things like this, and have some know-how as to level up pieces and fill in the gaps, you'll have no problems with it. Even professional furniture has touch up work done in the end.
My last comments are on the fireplace itself - the fire animation is beautiful and fairly realistic. The heat output is decent, but we were a little disappointed, as it doesn't quite heat our downstairs up as well as a quartz heater we've been using for years. All in all, though, I would recommend this product.
PROS:
- Beautiful piece of furniture at a steal of a price
- Decent heat output with nice fire animation
- wood grain model looks beautiful and realistic
- Unit seems very sturdy and well-built when all put together
- Perfectly fits our TV and the shelf-section is great for game systems as well as decorations
- Not overly heavy or cumbersome to move around
CONS:
- Advanced assembly for newcomers
- Poor craftsmanship and gaps in areas
- Door hinges suck
- Fireplace could be warmer, and is missing climate controls
So, to sum things up. I have assembled tons of furniture. The directions for this assembly are well-written! The product is beautiful, functional, and sturdy. It is perfect for what I wanted. It takes about 1 hour to open the box and lay out all the parts, plus a little over 2 hours to build. Very nice realistic fire. It heats well; no thermostat. I'm very satisfied." — Eddie Brooks
Get it from Amazon now: $429.99 & FREE Returns