The electrical basics you need to know, clearly explained
If you are not a licensed electrician or a seasoned DIY expert, the electrical requirements for electric fireplaces may seem daunting and possibly confusing. There’s also a bit of misinformation surrounding electric fireplaces. We’re here to help you understand what you need to know to have your new electric fireplace safely installed.
DIY or Pro?
While we’re happy to explain some electrical basics, we don’t expect an untrained person to actually do the work. We want you to understand what is needed, so you can be better prepared to select and install an electric fireplace. Electrical wiring is not a Do-It-Yourself project. Whenever you need any electrical work done, we recommend that you consult a licensed electrician.
EXPLORE ELECTRIC FIREPLACES
120 volts vs 240 volts: What’s the difference?
120 Volts
The current that runs throughout our homes in North America is 120 volts. When you plug something into a regular electrical socket in your home, you are connecting to 120 volts. All electric fireplaces will operate on 120 volts. A single 120-volt circuit will support a power draw of up to 1500 watts. When you purchase a blow dryer or space heater, you may notice the maximum wattage listed on the package; this tells you how powerful the heat output will be. So, a 1500-watt dryer will be more powerful than a 1000-watt dryer, for example. For an electric fireplace, 1500 watts translates to about 5000 BTUs of heat (British Thermal Units are a way of measuring the amount of heat being produced). This is enough heat to warm up an area of about 400-500 square feet.
240 Volts
Large appliances in your home, like an electric stove or a clothes dryer, will be connected to a special ‘heavy duty’ socket; these are 240 volts. As you would imagine, 240 volts offers more power, and can support more heat output. Some electric fireplaces may also connect to 240 volts. This allows the fireplace to produce more heat, and these units will have a maximum draw of about 2500 watts. This will provide a maximum heat output of 8500 – 9000 BTUs, which will take the chill off an area up to about 800 square feet.
The Bottom Line: if you need more heat, or you are heating up a larger space, you need an electric fireplace that can connect to 240 volts instead of 120 volts.
What is a dedicated line?
A dedicated line is an electrical line that connects directly to a circuit breaker (or a fuse in an older home) on your electrical panel and has only one item connected to it. If you flip the circuit breaker off, only this one item would be affected. Simply stated, each circuit breaker represents a single electrical circuit.
Outlet vs Circuit
A single outlet is not necessarily a single circuit, or a dedicated line. In fact, most outlets in your home are one of a series of outlets that connect to each other on that single circuit. When you flip off one of the circuit breakers on your electrical panel, you will notice that multiple lights or outlets will turn off at one time. These are not dedicated circuits. Sometimes when we mention putting the fireplace on a dedicated circuit, homeowners will tell us that they have an outlet just for the fireplace, with nothing else plugged in. Unless that outlet was specifically put in as a dedicated line, with no other outlets connected to the same circuit breaker, it is NOT a dedicated circuit, or a dedicated line. The quickest way to figure this out is to turn off the breaker that goes to your fireplace outlet; if other items also turn off at the same time, you do not have a dedicated line.
Why is a dedicated line important for an electric fireplace?
With only the flames turned on, an electric fireplace will draw very little electricity, because all the lights are LED. If there were no heater on the fireplace, you wouldn’t need a dedicated circuit. However, as noted above, electric fireplaces have a maximum heat output of 1500 watts on a 120-volt line, or 2500 watts on a 240 volts line. This is all the power that the circuit can handle. If your heater is at the maximum setting, there is no power left on the circuit for any other items. If the fireplace heater has to share the electrical circuit with other items, you risk the circuit breaker turning off whenever it gets overloaded. Not only is this inconvenient, it’s a warning that you are overloading your electrical system. If you can’t connect your electric fireplace to a dedicated circuit, then you may have to restrict the heat output on the fireplace.
Plug-in or hard-wire?
There are two types of electric fireplaces connections:
- Plug-in with optional hard-wire
- Mandatory hard-wire
Just because an electric fireplace comes with a power cord doesn’t necessarily mean that it should be plugged in. Almost all electric fireplaces may be hard-wired. It’s important to understand when you need to hard-wire the fireplace. We’ve summarized it in the following table.
When to Hard-wire your Electric Fireplace
| When hard-wiring is MANDATORY | When hard-wiring is OPTIONAL |
|---|---|
| Fireplace is 240 volts | Fireplace is 120 volts |
| Fireplace is built-in and can't be removed from the wall | Fireplace is surface-mounted or slide-in and may be removed from the wall |
Hard-wiring for 240 Volts
To connect electric fireplaces to 240 volts, they must be hard-wired. They don’t come with the heavy-duty plugs that you see on appliances like stoves or dryers. Some electric fireplaces are dual-voltage, so they may connect to either 120 volts or 240 volts. Some of these do not come with a cord, and are hard-wire-ready by default. If you wish to plug-in to a regular 120-volt receptacle, you will need to order the optional plug kit, if one is available.
Hard-wiring for safety
Building codes require that an electrical receptacle must be accessible, and cannot be buried behind a wall. Those electric fireplaces which may not be removed from the wall after construction, may not be plugged into a receptacle behind the wall, because that receptacle would not be accessible once the fireplace wall is completed. It doesn’t matter if the fireplace is 120 volts or 240 volts in this case – it must be hard-wired.
What if my built-in fireplace comes with a plug? Some built-in electric fireplaces come with a power cord for testing and demonstration purposes. However, this cord is meant to be removed at installation, and replaced with a hard-wire connection.
Some plug-in fireplaces are perfectly safe. Many electric fireplaces slide into the wall opening from the front, after the wall is finished. These units may be plugged into a receptacle behind the wall, because the fireplace may later be removed should there be a fault with the receptacle.
Heat or no heat?
Almost all electric fireplaces come with built-in heaters. It is the heaters that draw most of the power, when they are turned on. Fortunately, with an electric fireplace, you can operate the flames with or without the heater. As mentioned above, without the heaters, electric fireplaces draw very little power because the flames are created with LED lights. If you find yourself in the position of wanting an electric fireplace, but not having the ability to connect to a dedicated circuit, you may opt to have the heater permanently disabled by a qualified technician. Or, you can simply choose not to use the heater.
Summary: What are the electrical requirements for electric fireplaces?
- Electric fireplaces may be 120-volts or 240 volts.
- The heater on most electric fireplaces will require a dedicated circuit.
- 120-volt fireplaces may be plug-in or hard-wired.
- 240-volt fireplaces must be hard-wired.
- Only fireplaces which can be removed from the wall after installation may be plugged in.
- Built-in fireplaces must be hard-wired.
Still have electrical questions? Reach out to our team or consult a licensed electrician.