Do Electric Fireplaces Give Off Heat?

Do Electric Fireplaces Give Off Heat?

Yes, electric fireplaces do give off heat and add a welcome boost of warmth to any room. Most electric fireplaces include an internal heater, which generates heat that is then blown into the room using a fan.

Many people think of electric fireplaces as a decorative feature that adds a focal point to their living space. While it’s true that electric fires are an attractive and highly desirable design item, they are also equipped with heaters that add extra heat to your home.

How Electric Fireplaces Produce Heat

Now that you know electric fireplaces do give off heat, you might be wondering how electric fireplaces work. So, how do electric fireplaces produce heat?

In most cases, electric fireplaces generate heat by using a fan heater. The heater is situated within the body of the fireplace and has a metal coil inside it. When your heater is turned on, an electric current goes through the coil, which causes it to heat. The hot metal coil heats the air around it.

A fan then blows the heated air from around the coil and into your room through a vent in the fireplace. The heater may be positioned at the top, bottom or front of the electric fire. On built-in electric fires, the heater will be at the front of the fire so that the heat generated comes into the room rather than into the recess.

In other cases, electric fireplaces generate heat using infrared. This is when the fireplace uses electricity to create invisible rays of light that go through the air and heat any objects in their path. This type of electric fireplace generates heat similarly to how rays of sunlight heat the Earth.

How Much Heat Do Electric Fireplaces Provide?

Most electric fireplaces have heat outputs of between 1kW and 2kW. Many models have a choice of different heat settings. For example, the Ezee Glow 50” Celestial Built-In Electric Fire comes with a choice of 1.4kW or 1.6kW heat settings. Many electric fires also include a thermostat, which gives you greater control over how much heat the fireplace provides.

But given that the maximum heat output from an electric fireplace is around 2kW, it will not generate enough warmth to heat your entire home. An electric fire is best used to supplement your main heating system.

Do the Flames Give Off Heat?

No, there are no real flames in an electric fireplace. This means the flames do not give off any heat and the appliance itself is not hot to the touch. 

Although many electric fires have realistic flame effects, these are usually created with LED light effects. Nothing is actually being burned, so no heat comes from the flames. The flame effect is completely separate from the fan heater within the fireplace.

While the flames do not have any functional role in an electric fireplace, they do help to create a cosy atmosphere in your home all year round. With independent flame effects, you can enjoy a relaxing ambience even when you’re not using the heater.

Electric Fireplaces vs. Other Heating Options

Given that electric fireplaces do give off heat, how do they compare with other heating options for your home? Here’s how electric fires shape up against wood-burning stoves, gas fires and other forms of heating.

Heat output

There is no doubt that there are more effective alternatives to electric fireplaces if heat output is your primary concern. Electric fire heat outputs are generally somewhere between 1kW and 2kW. Many appliances offer a choice of two heat settings, so you can choose the most appropriate level of warmth for your room.

While this provides a nice boost of heat to your home, it’s far below the intensity of the heat output from an 8kW logburner, for example. On the other hand, electric fireplaces boast 100 per cent efficiency — the entire heat output goes towards heating your home. More of the heat output is lost when burning gas, wood or coal.

Costs

Electric fireplace running costs compare favourably with other types of heating, especially when they’re being used in flame-only mode. An LED flame effect can be used for six hours a day for an entire month and still give you plenty of change from £1.

When using an electric fireplace heater, electricity usually costs more per kWh than other forms of heating. At the time of writing, the cost of electricity is around 26 pence per kWh, compared to just over 6 pence per kWh for gas. We will discuss electric fire running costs in more detail later.

A big advantage is that installation costs are typically much lower for electric fireplaces since they can be plugged in and used without the need for a chimney or flue system to be installed.

Convenience

Electric fires are incredibly convenient, especially in comparison to lighting and maintaining a woodburner or open fire. Most electric fireplaces are controlled at the press of a button.

Depending on the brand of your electric fireplace, you could have a remote or an app to control the heat from the fire. This can be used to turn the heater on or off whenever you want to. 

Many electric fireplaces also include timers and thermostats to give you greater convenience and control over your fire.

Aesthetics

Contemporary electric fireplaces, such as media wall electric fires, offer an attractive and highly sought-after modern look. While wood-burning stoves arguably create a more traditional, homely appearance, electric fireplaces are in keeping with a neat, sleek and stylish look favoured by many households.

Maintenance

Electric fires are very low-maintenance. They require very little intervention beyond occasional dusting. Again, this compares favourably with heating appliances that need regular servicing, chimney sweeping and cleaning procedures.

Energy Efficiency and Cost to Run

Electric fireplaces are 100 per cent efficient at the point of use. In other words, every penny you spend on heating your home with an electric fire goes towards heating your home. Since no fuel is being burned, no energy is wasted.

The flame effects are highly energy efficient because the LED lights use hardly any electricity at all. Having the flames switched on all day would still cost less than 7p.

For the heater itself, running costs are easy to calculate. An electric fire usually has two or more heat output settings. The heat output will be given in kW. Simply multiply this figure by your electricity unit rate to see the cost of running the fire for one hour.

This will typically be more expensive than running a gas fireplace or logburner for the same period of time. But it offers a convenient burst of warmth that starts and stops at the press of a button.

Safety of Electric Fireplaces

Electric fireplaces are incredibly safe heating appliances. They are generally considered to be one of the safest options for a fireplace.

As we’ve discussed, there is no fuel burned in an electric fire. As a result, no smoke, fumes or emissions are given off. This means that, unlike with gas, wood and coal heating appliances, no carbon monoxide is created.

Since the flames are not hot and the glass is cool to the touch, electric fireplaces are a safe, child-friendly and pet-friendly heating option. While electric fireplaces never get hot enough to cause burns, many contain additional safety features just in case. This includes an overheating safety cut-out, which forces an electric fireplace to switch off when the appliance hits a specific temperature.

The only significant safety considerations with an electric fire are ventilation and distances to materials that are combustible or at risk of melting. Manufacturers will detail their guidelines in the appliance manual.

When to Use an Electric Fireplace

Electric fireplaces are an excellent heating option in various settings. They are the perfect way to add extra warmth to apartments, rental homes and other properties where installing a logburner, open fire or gas fireplaces is not an option.

Electric fires are also ideal to supplement the warmth in a living room or bedroom. In this scenario, they can provide a welcome extra boost of heat or provide a convenient, quick heating option available from the comfort of your sofa.

Last but by no means least, you can use an electric fireplace to create a cosy atmosphere even when you don’t need extra heat. The minuscule running costs of an electric fire flame effect enable you to make an inviting ambience in your room without using the heater. Many people say having the flame effect running actually makes their room feel warmer, even when no heat is being produced.

Final thoughts 

So, to conclude, electric fireplaces do give off real heat. Although the cosy and relaxing ambience of the flame effect is what encourages most people to buy an electric fire, these aesthetic reasons are combined with a genuine and effective heat output.

That means electric fireplaces make your room warmer as well as making it look better.

We offer a wide range of electric fireplaces at Gr8 Fires, including media wall fires, self-build media wall kits, electric fire suites, freestanding electric fires and electric stoves.

Ready to add the comfort, convenience, and cosiness of an electric fireplace to your room? See our full range of electric fires to find the perfect one for your home.