When cooler weather arrives in Canada, our thoughts turn to cozy gatherings beside the fireplace, warm drinks in hand. However, some of our dreamy wood-burning fireplaces have become more nightmarish, due to drafty, smelly or decommissioned chimneys. Some homeowners are put off by the idea of having to bring messy firewood into the house, or having the smell of woodsmoke permeate everything. That’s when we start getting calls from people who love the idea of a fireplace but need a simpler way to continue using it. Fortunately, our manufacturers have long created electric fireplace inserts with heaters, designed to fit into and update woodburning fireplaces. They have even taken into account the fact that there is no such thing as a ‘standard’ fireplace opening, and one size does not fit all. For our purposes, ‘inserts’ refers to any electric fireplace heater that may be put inside an existing fireplace opening. They generally fall into 2 categories: log sets and fireboxes.
Electric fireplace heater inserts: Log Sets vs. Fireboxes
Log sets are just that – logs sitting in a grate. They sit inside the old fireplace, with no glass on the front — you can keep your existing fireplace doors or screen, or add new ones. They are more flexible than fireboxes, because we only need to find a log set that fits the interior of the fireplace, without worrying about the glass being the exact size of the opening. Logs are manmade but are created to mimic real wood. All of our log sets have heaters and blowers, with some level of temperature control, and all connect to 120 volts.
Fireboxes are self-contained metal boxes with the logs inside, and glass on the front. They slide into the old opening so that you no longer see the existing fireplace interior. With this type of fireplace insert, you would not be able to keep your existing fireplace doors or screen. However, they have the advantage of hiding a dirty old fireplace and blocking drafts from the chimney. A firebox will most likely need a trim kit around it, to hide gaps between the existing opening and the edges of the firebox. The fireboxes we’re sharing here all have these trim kits available. All of these electric fireplace inserts will connect to 120 volts, and a few will also connect to 240 volts, which can provide more heat output.
Below, we’re outlining current electric fireplace insert options for updating your woodburning fireplaces, including log sets and fireboxes.
Electric fireplace log sets with heaters
Napoleon Woodland: NEFI18H, NEFI24H, NEFI28H
Napoleon makes their Woodland log set in 3 sizes, which is a huge help when trying to fit an electric fireplace insert into an existing opening. Compared to other electric fireplace log sets, the Woodland 18-inch is the smallest available, and the Woodland 27-inch is the largest available. Woodland logs project flames off the back of your fireplace opening. The logs themselves sit in a grate, where they glow and pulse, to mimic real fire. Below the grate is a heater with blower, so you can have warmth when you need it, or just enjoy the logs without any heating.
Dimplex Revillusion: RLG20, RLG25
Dimplex offers a completely different flame effect with their Revillusion log sets. Like their Revillusion fireboxes, these log sets have flames being reflected in the center of the logs, and not off the back of the fireplace. This has been accomplished with an oval Mirage panel standing in the middle of the log set, and the resulting fire is very realistic. Like other electric log sets, there is a heater with blower sitting below the grate, and you can have this on or off, without disturbing the flames. Because the Mirage panel catches light from its surroundings, the oval can become quite noticeable and distracting. We recommend that the Revillusion log sets be set behind a fireplace screen or doors. (Remember to open the glass doors when you turn on the heater.)
Electric fireplace fireboxes with heaters
Napoleon Cineview: NEFB26H, NEFB30H
Cineview is the shallowest of the electric fireplace inserts, making it easier to fit into old fireplace openings. It features multicoloured flames and ember lights, and comes with both crystals and logs. The logs and grate are removable if you prefer the look of crystals only. The optional trim kits may be installed on 3 or 4 sides, as needed.
Napoleon Element: NEFB36H-BS-1, NEFB42H-BS-1
Element electric fireplaces are suitable for larger wood-burning fireplaces. Napoleon has created optional trim kits for these fireboxes, so they may be used to convert old fireplaces. These impressive heater inserts may be connected to either 120 or 240 volts, so heating output could be as high as 10,000 BTUs on 240 volts.
Dimplex Revillusion: RBF24DLX, RBF30-FG
Revillusion fireboxes, like the log sets, put the flames in the middle of the logs by using a Mirage panel. In order to accommodate the panel, these fireboxes are deeper than other heater inserts of similar size, so they don’t always fit into existing fireplaces. There are larger sizes available, but those don’t have optional trim kits, so we haven’t included them here. The RBF30 is dual-voltage, so it can be connected to either 120 or 240 volts, allowing for higher heat output.
Modern Flames Redstone: RS-2621, RS-3021, RS-3626
Redstone fireboxes are shallower than Revillusion, but deeper than Cineview. Like Cineview, the logs are removable so that you can set them up with crystals only. Unlike Cineview, Redstone logs are lit from within, for added realism. There are 10 flame colours, as well as ember lighting and downlighting, so they are among the most colourful of the electric fireplace heater inserts. The optional trim kits replace the included trim when needed, for a seamless look.
Amantii TRD: TRD-26, TRD-30, TRD-38
Amantii’s electric fireplace inserts are as deep or deeper than Revillusion, so they may not fit every fireplace opening. There are 5 sizes in total, but it’s the smallest 3 that have optional trim kits that make them candidates for your old wood-burning fireplaces. The TRD fireboxes offer 3 flame colours, as well as ember colours and downlights. Logs are loose, without a grate, for a more contemporary look.