Electric Fireplace Inserts - A Buyer's Guide By Tye Lovett At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

An electric fireplace insert allows you to convert an older wood burning fireplace into a heating source powered by electricity. A fireplace insert is a smaller fireplace that fits inside a larger one. Many people use an electric insert because they do not wish to have the inconvenience of smoke and ash of a wood burning fire, or the chimney of the original fireplace is no longer working. Electric fireplaces inserts are a breeze to you – just plug into an electric outlet and away you go.

The main advantage of an electric fireplace insert is that they are considered to be much more efficient than a wood burning hearth. With open fires up to 90 percent of the heat is lost through the masonry or up the chimney, and most of the effective heat occurs right in front of the fire. An electric fireplace usually comes with a heater with a blower to circulate the warm air through the room and because there is no wood to burn you do not need to worry about buying fuel or cleaning ash.

An electric insert is very easy to install into your established fireplace. They simply slide into the hearth and plug into the wall. An insert can quickly change the look of your fireplace and in turn the room as a whole. Models can come in a range of finishes including black, brass, chrome and gold. And they can be fashioned to look historic or contemporary. For older cold burning fireplaces you can small inserts, while larger versions are available for wood burning fireplaces.

These days electric fireplaces come with fake flames that recreate the effect of flickering flames. These have improved over the years to the point where it can almost be impossible to tell the difference between real flames or fake flames. This effect helps to recreate the mood and feeling of a wood burning or gas fire without all the difficulties around cleaning and smoke. One good thing is that that the flames can be turned on with or without the heater.

If you have an old or disused fireplace then a great way to get some use out of it is to use an electric fireplace insert. As no smoke is generated no chimney is required and can be slid into the old fireplace without the need for any structural changes to the fireplace or building. The typical electrical fireplace can heat a room around 400 square feet. If you have central heating you can use the fireplace in a single room to keep it warm while you save money by turning the central heating off in the other parts of the house.

Electric fireplaces are cheap. They cost around 7 cent per hour and there is no expensive installation like new gas lines or vents required. You can also save on fuel and cleaning the ash and soot from the fireplace and furniture.

The ease of installation also means that electric fireplace inserts are easy to remove when you need to relocate to a new house or you want to change back to the wood burning fireplace again.

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