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 Electric Fireplace Logs: How They Work and Their Benefits

Electric Fireplace Logs: How They Work and Their Benefits

 Electric Fireplace Logs: How They Work and Their Benefits

The focal point of a room often has eye-catching and appealing features. It’s the area or structure one notices as soon as they enter the room.

An electric fireplace serves this role perfectly, as Jessica has experienced firsthand:

“Love the Planika fireplace! I received lots of compliments during the Holidays.”
Jessica, a verified buyer 

Electric fireplace logs allow you to enjoy the look and feel of an authentic log fire while transforming your fireplace into your room’s focal point.

Even better, they let you warm your home without having to deal with the numerous downsides of using real logs—especially cleaning the soot.

What Is an Electric Fireplace’s Working Mechanism?

Electric fireplaces use either infrared technology or convectional heating to produce warmth.

The glow (or “flame”) you see comes from several components working together to produce a convincing flame effect, like the one shown below.

What Is an Electric Fireplace’s Working Mechanism?

Touchstone Sideline Infinity 3 Sided 50" Black WiFi Enabled Recessed Electric Fireplace

The components of an electric fireplace include:

  • A set of electric logs that glow when they are lit from a source placed beneath them. The light source for most electric fire logs is a halogen bulb that produces a striking glow when you turn on the system.
  • A display panel that produces flame effects by projecting flame images onto the wall behind the unit.
  • A heating mechanism that uses either infrared technology or a heating element.

The electric fireplace you purchase will use either infrared or forced fan electric fire logs, but not both. And each electric fire type works differently.

Infrared Fireplace Logs

As their name suggests, infrared fireplace logs use infrared technology.

Infrared heat is found all around us. It’s the heat that is produced by the sun, by burning wood, and by our bodies.

The following video provides more details about infrared waves and radiation.

The infrared waves that your fire logs produce move through the air without warming it; but they do release heat energy when they reach your skin. When the water molecules in your skin absorb the heat energy produced by the infrared waves, they begin to vibrate and give you a warm feeling.

Infrared waves heat your skin and not the air around you because of your skin’s water content. Studies have shown that approximately 64% of our skin consists of water.

Once you switch on your infrared electric fireplace, you’ll begin to feel warmth after about 30 seconds.

Forced Fan Electric Fireplace Logs

Forced Fan Electric Fireplace Logs

Electric fireplace logs use conventional heating techniques to generate heat that travels via conventional currents to reach your skin and warm you up.

A typical forced fan electric fireplace is composed of two features:

  • The heating element(s)
  • A blower fan

An electric fire log may have one or two heating elements. The element heats up when you switch on the system, thereby heating the air around it.

The blower fan serves two roles. The rear side of the fan sucks in air and passes it over the elements. The front side of the fan blows away warm air forward so it can reach you and warm you up.

Compared to infrared electric fireplace logs, the forced air system will take a little longer to warm your room and skin.

The table below summarizes some other differences between the two electric fireplace log types.

Property Infrared Electric Fireplace Log Forced Fan Electric Fireplace Log
Moving Parts Has no moving parts Has a blower fan that moves cool and warm air through the room
Heating Area Can heat a room of up to 1000 square feet Can heat a small room of up to 400 square feet
Cost Relatively cheaper More costly due to higher efficiency
Noise Since they don’t have moving parts, you can operate them in silence The blower fan produces some noise
Heat Retention Infrared fire logs heat your skin quickly, but the warmth disappears faster too Since this device also heats the surrounding air, your room stays warm for some time even after you switch the system off

The Benefits of Electric Fireplace Logs

Electric fireplaces are becoming increasingly popular among homeowners and tenants thanks to their multiple advantages over traditional fireplaces.

They Don’t Produce Any Fumes

To use electric logs, all you have to do is plug them into your mains and switch them on. Their lights create a realistic appearance of burning logs without real flames.

Without real fire, you don’t have to worry about smell or fumes that come with flames and burning wood. James was particularly happy about this feature:

They Don’t Produce Any Fumes

Moreover, electric fireplace logs don’t produce any soot, and you won’t have to worry about smoke or gas penetrating your home. You simply get to enjoy the coziness of a warm fire without worrying about breathing in toxic fumes.

Low Maintenance

Maintaining a fireplace that uses real wood, gas, and fire can be expensive and demanding. Combustion generates ash and fumes, which leave soot residue. A chimney helps to direct away most of these fumes from your house, but a significant amount of residue will still find its way into the room.

You’ll have to regularly clean the chimney so smoke can move up and away from your house efficiently and safely.

Additionally, you’ll have to regularly clean the ash left behind by burning wood, and wipe the soot from any objects immediately surrounding the fireplace.

With electric logs, you don’t have to worry about any of these maintenance issues. Since they produce heat without fire, they don’t create any by-products (meaning no mess to clean up).

Low Cost

The cost of installing a traditional fireplace can run into the thousands, especially if the feature wasn’t included in the building’s original construction plan. You may have to remodel your house to include a fire-resistant fireplace enclosure and a chimney.

An electric fireplace, by contrast, is much easier and less invasive to install.

As you can see in the picture below, all you need is a space for the unit to sit, and you’re good to go.

Decoflame Ethanol Fireplaces

Decoflame Ethanol Fireplaces

It’s almost as easy as plugging it into the mains and switching it on. Enjoying the warmth of a fire without routinely cleaning up soot makes it an appealing and cost-effective heating option.

Purchasing Electric Fireplace Logs Is Easy

Purchasing Electric Fireplace Logs Is Easy

You don’t need to prepare your room much for a heating system that uses electric fire logs. Modern Ethanol Fireplaces makes it easy for you to choose the appropriate electric fireplace logs for your home and have them conveniently delivered.

You’ll also benefit from:

  • 100% customer satisfaction guarantee
  • Fast and easy returns
  • Secure transactions
  • Free shipping for orders over $99
  • Price match guarantee

Let us help you transform your living room into a warm space using beautiful electric fireplace logs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can electric logs warm my room?

Yes.

Forced fan electric fireplace logs can provide sufficient heat for warming your room. However, most electric fireplaces can only warm a room up to 400 square feet in size.

Do electric fireplace flames look realistic?

Yes, they do.

Technology has made it possible to produce graphics that make electric log flames look realistic. The electric logs have a display area on which realistic images are projected. Some electric fireplaces produce images that are so realistic that you’ll have to get close to notice that they’re not real flames.

How do infrared electric fireplaces produce heat?

Infrared fireplaces produce infrared waves, which excite the water molecules in your skin and produce heat energy.

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