Guides

Electric fireplaces now use five very different flame technologies: standard LED, layered LED, LCD screens, holographic projection and real water vapor, plus Dimplex's Revillusion for traditional log fires. Here is how each one works, how realistic it looks, and how they compare on heat, wall depth and price.

All four Dimplex Ignite linear electric fireplaces share the same 1,500 W heater. The Ignite XL is the slim, budget built-in, the Evolve adds app control in the same opening, the Bold adds side glass for corner and bay installs, and the Ultra brings glowing logs and crackling sound. Here is how they compare, with prices, framing openings and Dimplex's other linear lines.

A vent-free gas fireplace costs less, fits a wall half as deep and puts nearly all its heat in the room. It is also banned outright in California, Minnesota and New York City homes, and restricted everywhere else. Here is how direct vent and vent-free compare, using Empire's Boulevard built both ways, and where vent-free isn't allowed. Every product figure below comes from the specifications on our own product pages.

A $1,069 open wood fireplace and a $4,409 EPA-certified one are different appliances, and the EPA draws the line itself. Here is every type of wood burning fireplace, from open and heat circulating to EPA-certified built-ins, see-through, outdoor, and the wood fireplace insert with blower that turns an existing fireplace into a heater. Every product figure below comes from the specifications on our own product pages.

Bromic makes three main families of patio heaters. Tungsten is the widest range, with gas, electric and portable gas models; Platinum is the slim one with a ceramic-glass face that gives off less light; and Eclipse is a round pendant that heats and lights a table. This guide compares them on heat output, heat area, looks, mounting and wiring.

A millivolt fireplace keeps a small pilot flame lit and makes its own power from it, so it runs with the electricity off. An electronic ignition fireplace lights its pilot only when you turn it on, so it burns less gas between fires, but it needs house power and backup batteries. Every figure below comes from the manufacturers' manuals or published government sources.

A see-through fireplace shows one fire in two rooms. A 3-sided model adds glass on an end, as either a peninsula or a bay. In the Empire Tahoe, Empire Vail and Majestic lines, the two shapes share the same firebox and cost the same or less. Every figure below comes from the specifications on our own product pages.

Why the wall above a gas fireplace gets so hot, and how heat management systems from Superior, Majestic, Napoleon and Empire keep it cool, protect your TV and move heat where you want it.

Empire sells the Tahoe in three tiers and each tier in a louvered and a clean-face version. The tiers are different fireboxes, not trim levels: the depth, the burner and at 42 inches the vent size all change. Every figure below comes from the specifications on our own product pages.