Potential Costs When Using a Modern Electric Fireplace in Your Home

Convienance is what a modern electric fireplace brings to the table when making the decision on what type of fireplace you want for your home. A modern electric fireplace can be positioned anywhere in your home just like any other piece of furniture. Concerned about safety? These type of fireplaces have no hot surfaces so feel free to position the fireplace in any area of the house you desire.

Depending on what type of modern electric fireplace you want the costs for installation are low or at no cost. No chimney or gas line installation is needed because no venting is required unlike wood burning or gas stove fireplaces. The fireplace can simply be plugged into a common household electrical outlet. The typical operating costs in the United States run about 2 cents an hour on a "flame only" setting to about 7 cents an hour when you're using the heater. These costs will vary from state to state. 

A typical modern electric fireplace will provide an average of 4500-5000 BTU of heat. This will typically serve as a sole source of heat for a room the size of 400 square feet.

A smaller portable modern electric fireplace will typically cost around $100-$200 dollars. Some of the larger models complete with a marble body, face and hearth can cost an average of $2000 dollars.

To make the fireplace more realistic you may want to add a few accessories. Some models may come with real logs that make a crackling sound to simulate a wood-burning fireplace. Other accessories include an andirons to hold wood logs and a tool set to complete the fireplace setting. The accessories combined can cost an average of $300 dollars dependant upon what company you chose to buy from.