I purchased a new home recently, and with this new property I became the proud owner of a giant hole in what was once a living room wall. Apparently, the previous owner had a fireplace there at one point but decided to take the entire enclosure with him to his new residence.
While I considered putting a real fireplace in to replace the old one, I decided not to because of all the hassles that come along with owning one including the need to rehabilitate an old chimney that was threatening to crumble at any time. I ultimately decided on an electric unit because they look great, come at affordable prices, and are very portable. I spent sometime trying to find all the best electric fireplace reviews online, combining this information with my own experiences while shopping at a local store as well as user feedback. Based on all of those factors, the following 3 items are my top picks.
DFI2309 Electric Fireplace
Click the image above for more information and pricing on the Dimplex DFI2309!
I ended up getting the Dimplex DFI2309 because you can’t beat the price, it looks great, and comes with some neat features. One thing that I really like about this unit is the ultra quiet fan that redistributes heat inside of the unit. This cuts down drastically on the heat build up that you get in lower quality built in electric fireplace units, something that I was incredibly wary about when I started searching for something to fill the hole in my living room wall.
In addition to the heat redistribution, The DFI can run in what the company calls a “half heat” mode, allowing you to keep the flames going as a decorative element while cutting down on heat and power consumption. This is perfect for rainy days at the beginning of Spring time when the temperature is starting to warm up but you still want the coziness of a fireplace. I keep this thing on half heat mode much of the time, and it looks and feels great!
Ultimately, this was the perfect unit for me and my budget. While it is missing the ability to control heat level from the included remote control, I can’t knock the DFI too hard for such a small flaw considering that unit delivers where it counts.
The Dimplex CFP3920BW
Click the image above for more information and pricing on the Dimplex CFP!
The Dimplex CFP all in one electric fireplace is my first runner up considering that it is by far the classiest looking of all the units that I considered purchasing. The enclosure is 36 inches high, a respectable size that will allow you to place photos and other keepsakes on top of the built in mantle piece. The material is a burnished walnut with a beautiful finish which lends an understated, sophisticated look to the product.
The CFP comes with a 4,910 BTU heater which is an impressive amount of heat, sure to please everyone that comes into contact with it come wintertime. I ultimately decided against this unit because I don’t need that much heat in my living room, so the money would mostly be going toward the aesthetic value of this unit.
Bionaire BFH5000-UM
Click the image above for more information on the Bionaire BFH!
I was initially attracted to the Bionaire BFH5000 because of its modern aesthetic. The user reviews on this unit are extremely positive as well, with people pointing out only a few minor issues but ultimately being very happy with their purchases.
The BFH5000 looks a lot like an LCD TV, complete with a wall-mounting option for ultimate flexibility in placement. I personally prefer the more traditional look of the Dimplex units above, but I would have purchased the Bionaire if I was going for a more modern look. It really comes down to the kind of atmosphere that you are trying to establish in your home. Additionally, the BFH unit employs a pretty neat safety feature entitled “tip over protection” as well as an auto-shutoff feature that will engage in unlikely situation where the fireplace overheats.
To cap off the feature list, the Bionaire includes a 12 hour on-off timer, allowing you to set the unit up and walk away feeling confident that it will switch itself off after a certain amount of time, wasting less power and keeping the heat levels reasonable.