Ah, winter. The season of snow, sledding, ice skating, and holiday cheer. There are so many wonderful outside activities to take part in, the only thing missing is… the cold. Running outdoors to join the thrilling snowball fight sounds great at the time, but what about warming up afterward? The season of shivers means cranking up the heat and pulling out all the extra blankets to stay nice and cozy. Just imagine: After a long day of work, you can put on your favorite sweater, curl up on the couch, and turn on the fireplace. That’s right, turn it On. No wood chopping, no ash shoveling, no smoking. Just the push of a button and instant warmth. That sounds great, but how can I have a fireplace without any of the work? The answer is simple: An electric fireplace! An electric fireplace has all the qualities of a built-in fireplace and more. You can stay warm, decorate it with cute knickknacks, take even cuter pictures, and keep the maintenance at a minimum! Say hello to winter with your new best friend, the electric fireplace – read on for 6 reasons why YOU should invest in one this winter season!
Hassle Free Installation with Minimum Maintenance
Traditional, built-in fireplaces require sweeping, brushing, waterproofing, and other year-round maintenance. These tasks can take anywhere from an extra hour to half a day, and that’s multiple times a year. There are codes and regulations to follow in order to keep your fireplace up-to-date and ready to use. Does that sound like fun to you? Of course not! That’s not even considering all the work that goes into gathering wood, starting the fire, putting it out, and cleaning it afterward. That sounds like even less fun. And with the effort that comes into using and maintaining that fireplace, it might make you less motivated to even start a fire at all. Now, let’s compare these tasks to that of an electric fireplace:
1. Delivering it to your home
2. Plugging it in
3. Turning it on and off
3 steps is all it takes (minus the occasional cleaning) to have a warm, cozy fire right in your home! There’s no need to sweep ashes, no need to feed the fire, and no need to put it out once you’re done for the day. There’s no extra maintenance that goes with an electric fireplace, unless you count decorating it!
Environmentally Friendly
So, we’ve learned that electric fireplaces require almost no maintenance. Did we happen to mention that they’re environmentally friendly, as well? A regular fire needs wood to stay lit, but how much wood does it take to keep a fire going? Let’s say, you want to sit by the fire for an hour. You need about three logs and some kindling to start it. If you want to keep it going for a full hour, you’ll need one or two more logs and extra kindling. In total, that’s 5 logs with kindling. If you have a fire once a week from November to February, that’s 80 logs total – about the size of a medium tree without its branches. It may not sound like a lot, but that can add up over time. With an electric fireplace, the only juice it needs is electricity. Since it doesn’t burn through wood, there’s no smoke to go with it, keeping your air clean and healthy. You’re saving trees and keeping your air clean at the same time – double win!
Budget Friendly
As far as heating goes, an electric fireplace is the least expensive overall. Let’s go back to the 80 logs for a second. A bundle of firewood (about 5 logs) costs $5-7, give or take depending on where you live. For ease, we’ll say that one log is worth $1. If you use 80 logs in a year, that’s $80. That might not seem like a lot of money, but $80 a year for multiple years can add up. If you chop your own wood, you’re paying with your time. You have to find the wood, chop the wood, haul the wood, stack the wood… you get the point. If you’re not paying for firewood with your money, then you’re paying with your time and effort. That’s just firewood, we haven’t even mentioned the cost of maintaining a fireplace. Depending on how often you clean your fireplace (which is once a year at minimum, according to the National Fire Protection Association), it can cost anywhere from $80 to $800. Now that adds up. An electric fireplace doesn’t require wood or cleaning, just an occasional dusting or spray when needed. Doesn’t that sound so much easier?
We’re saving money on wood and cleaning, but an electric fireplace can also help you save money on electricity. An electric fireplace is a ‘zone heater’, meaning it only heats up the room that it’s in. If you put your fireplace in the main room of your home, then it might not be necessary for you to heat up the rest of your house (unless you’d like multiple fireplaces in multiple rooms :D). Less heating means less electricity use, and that means saving you a ton of moolah.
Safety 1st
‘If you play with fire, you get burned.’ Everyone knows that fire is dangerous, and staying safe around it is extremely important. An electric fireplace takes the threat of the fire away completely by using a fake flame. The dangerous blaze is gone, and so are the burning ashes that fly up out of the fire. Thanks to not having a real flame, there’s no probability of danger in your home with potentially flammable objects. Along with this, there’s no smoke from the fire. This is great for those who prefer their air clean, those with allergies, and those with breathing sensitivities. The other cool thing is, electric fireplaces are safer than regular fireplaces and space heaters. Space heaters are not the best option for rooms with carpet, since their heat can be a fire hazard on carpet or near flammable objects. Electric fireplaces have vents off the floor, and the inlets/outlets to the heater part are usually out of the way, so the warmth is going into the room and not near anything flammable. Space heaters are also hot to the touch, with the potential to burn someone who accidentally touches it. The main body of an electric fireplace is not hot to the touch at all, and neither are the vents or outlets. That’s maximum safety and maximum warmth!
Your Fire, Your Way
With a regular fire, the size and heat are controlled by the fuel. Even with feeding the fire, you can’t guarantee that the flames will be warm enough for you. You also can’t control exactly how the fire will look (for photos, obviously ☺). Lastly, when you decide to make a fire, you have to time how long it takes to gather wood, to start the fire, to keep it fed, and to put it out. A one-hour fire could end up taking twice as long with set-up and take down… no thank you. Electric fireplaces are perfect for picking exactly what kind of fire you want! The first feature is a range of heat levels, so you can have just a spurt of warm air or a heat wave. Next is the fire level. Taking cute fireplace photos requires a cute fire background to match, right? The fire has multiple settings, so you can have the best-looking embers possible. Then you can sit directly in front of the flames, have a mini photoshoot, and post away! There’s no real flame, so you can get as close as you want for that perfect angle. Lastly, the timer lets you start and stop the fire whenever, no prep or clean-up necessary! Finding the perfect temp, backdrop, and timing has never been easier!
Year-Round Ready
A fireplace’s job is more than just being a fireplace. It brings warmth to your home, in more ways than one. It provides physical warmth, comfort, and style year-round! Many of the Furniture Mart fireplaces double as an entertainment center, so they can be the center of attention every season (pun intended). During winter, it works the main duty of being a fireplace, a mantel for stockings, and a place for winter decorations. During the warmer months, the fireplace insert is replaced with an included shelf and used to display spring plants or decorations. Along with this, the Furniture Mart also has a huge selection of fireplaces in every home style! There are sleek, minimalist, chic, and traditional fireplaces to choose from, so you know it’ll match your unique aesthetic. The seasons may change, but your electric fireplace can stay year-round!
A fireplace is a home staple, but some people either don’t have one, or are currently not using their built-in one. That’s why electric fireplaces are the perfect solution to finding that warm, cozy feeling in your home without the grunt work. They’re great for easy maintenance, for budget lovers, and for the environment. Let’s not forget that they’re one of the safest heating options for your house! Safety and style can come together for all your photo and home fashion needs, all year long. No real fire? No real problem.
