Not in any room or house it will be possible to put a real fireplace. Rigid fire safety standards clearly regulate the ban on open fire in a number of premises. What to do if you want the fireplace to become a part of your interior without fail? There is a way out - electric fireplaces with the effect of live fire practically do not differ from their wood-burning counterparts. They will also help you relax and even keep you warm on a chilly evening. And most importantly, such devices are absolutely safe, they can be installed even in the rooms of typical urban apartment buildings. With their help, you can create in the house a unique cozy atmosphere of a hearth in the truest sense of the word.
Electric fireplace with live fire effect
Moreover, modern electric fireplaces may not be limited only to the demonstration of a live flame and heating. They are able to create convincing illusions of other most beautiful natural phenomena, such as a running river stream.
An electric fireplace with a live fire effect is not just a source of heating for a room - it is an anchor for the interior of your entire home.
Content
Which is better, electric or classic wood burning fireplace
Some representatives of the traditional architectural school say that an electric fireplace can never replace a real hearth with crackling logs. Of course, reality is always better than even the best copy of it. But here's the problem: real fireplaces just can't be installed in some rooms. In addition, imagine a classic fireplace in an apartment building: how are you going to deal with the smoke in the apartment? How do you arrange a chimney? Where will you store your firewood?
But the electric fireplace completely removes all possible objections. Buy it from the store. Bring it home and plug it in - and your room will change in a unique way.
Do not think that a fireplace with a live fire effect will spin some kind of looped picture for you. Modern devices of this type are based on complex engineering calculations, their flame simulation is never repeated.
Such a fireplace can be safely placed in a country house and in the country. You will immediately get rid of many problems associated with installing a conventional classic fireplace.
What are fireplaces with the effect of live fire
Electric fireplaces with the effect of live fire primarily differ in design:
- They can have a lined decorative portal, which gives the device a complete resemblance to a classic fireplace. The coating can be of any type: both marble and stucco and ordinary tiles.
- There are free-standing outdoor electric fireplaces. They resemble cast classic cast iron stoves.
- The electric fireplace basket is also placed separately and looks like firewood. They are made from metal sheets and rods.
- A recessed cabinet fireplace can be a great solution for a small space. It can even be built into pieces of furniture.
- Corner electric fireplaces are built in, as a rule, in the corner of the room, but recently even furnished walls have been decorated with them.
freestanding electric fireplace
Each type of electric fireplace has several identical elements:
- Imitation grate,
- A container simulating a firebox,
- Imitation of smoldering firewood with coals,
- A device for simulating a burning flame,
- Framing, decorative elements.
Each manufacturer of electric fireplaces is trying to achieve the best combination of technological innovations to create the effect of live fire and an affordable price affordable to the consumer. Additionally, electric fireplaces can be equipped with attractive decorative elements that increase their aesthetic value. As a result, there is a very wide product range on the market: from budget models to elite samples that are not ashamed to be put in a rich country mansion. Manufacturers use very different methods for implementing the effect of smoldering firewood and a live dancing fire, constantly innovating in this process.
How modern electric fireplaces are arranged
If the fairy-tale hero Pinocchio buried his nose not in a painted hearth, but in a modern electric fireplace, he would be very surprised. During this time, the process of imitation of live fire has come a long way from a rough drawing on canvas to a high-tech device using the latest advances in engineering.
electric fireplace with portal
Electric fireplaces have existed for a long time, but until a certain time they were just iron boxes, inside of which there were open electric spirals. Of course, such a fireplace can warm you up on a cool evening, but you won’t get any aesthetic effect from it.
The easiest way to create the effect of live fire in electric fireplaces was to use cut pieces of silk fabric. They were blown from below by a fan, swayed under a stream of air and, in general, if you didn’t look closely, they quite resembled fire. Enhanced the effect of the presence of a lamp that illuminated the dancing shreds.
electric fireplace device
A modern electric fireplace with a live fire effect is a marvel of engineering. The illusion of fire is created in it with the help of a complex system of halogen lamps and water vapor. The lamps flicker according to a special, non-repeating algorithm, because a real live fire never repeats its dance movements. The light from the light bulbs is reflected from the smallest particles of water in moving vapors. This "cold fire" cannot be distinguished from the real one even from a distance of several centimeters.
Additional effects of creating the impression of a living flame can be enhanced by mirrors built into the firebox, which, by repeatedly reflecting the illuminated “fire”, enhance the effect of presence.
The live fire simulation system in an electric fireplace and the heating system usually work independently of each other. That is, you can very well enjoy the spectacle of a dancing flame in your electric fireplace and a hot day without the risk of sweating. Moreover, many modern electric fireplaces work with water vapor. It is noteworthy that this steam is cold, since it is created not by heating water, but by ultrasonic waves. Thus, your electric fireplace, showing you the effect of a living flame, can also humidify the room at the same time. Agree, it is simply impossible to achieve such an effect from a real, classic wood-burning fireplace.
Moreover, modern electric fireplaces may well demonstrate not only dancing flames, but also pictures that are completely unexpected for a fireplace, for example, water splashes of a mountain river.
And finally, a number of manufacturers equip their fireplaces with additional devices that turn it into a completely different device. There are electric fireplaces that can serve as a good audio system. So you can look at the fire and listen to your favorite music at the same time. The minimum sound system capable of reproducing the sounds of logs crackling in the fire is present on the models of many manufacturers.
How to choose an electric fireplace
The selection of an electric fireplace with the effect of a live flame begins, first of all, with a project. There are a huge number of models on the market with different dimensions, different designs and different functional characteristics.
You can choose an electric fireplace for a small bedroom from a small apartment to a huge living room in a country mansion. Decide on the size and design. A fireplace in the classic style “with curlicues and stucco” will look alien in a high-tech bedroom, and an electric fireplace made of polished steel with glass will not fit into the interior of an office with antique furniture.
In addition, electric fireplaces have different heating power and it must be taken into account based on the volume of your room.
Proper installation and safety of an electric fireplace with live fire
In any case, regardless of the design of the electric fireplace and its location, you need to check the characteristics of the electric wiring to power it. Fireplaces can have quite powerful heating elements.It is possible that the outlet located in the immediate vicinity of the fireplace and the wire suitable for it simply cannot withstand the required current strength. In this case, you will have to lay a separate wire, the cross section and material of which can give the required current to the electric heating element of the fireplace.
electric fireplace in the interior
You may also need to install a new wiring line if you do not want your fireplace to be entangled with protruding electrical wires. In this case, it would be wise to mount a new outlet, which will be located directly behind the installation site of the fireplace.
Free-standing fireplaces are installed without any problems. But with wall-mounted and built-in devices you have to tinker. Such electric fireplaces can be built into decorative portals lined with precious woods, noble stone or other finishing materials. Electric fireplaces can also be mounted in a plasterboard structure covered with a finishing material. It is also possible to mount the fireplace in pieces of furniture.
When installing a hanging fireplace, you should carefully consider mounting it on the wall. Lightweight wall lintel structures may not support the weight of the unit and will need to be reinforced. For mounting on a solid wall, at least four fixing points must be provided.
An electric fireplace with the effect of live fire, with the right choice and high-quality installation, will become a point of attraction for the interior of the entire room and will create a peaceful atmosphere of a cozy home in the room.
Electric fireplaces with the effect of live fire: video review
If you have had experience using an electric fireplace, write us your story, we and the site visitors will be very grateful for your advice!
