Do electric fireplaces actually work?
An electric fireplace is nothing more than an electric heater in a fancy enclosure. All electric heaters produce the same 3412.3 BTUs per KWH of electricity used. A gallon of heating oil contains about 138,690 BTUs of energy. Assuming that a typical furnace is about 80% efficient, you will net about 110,950 BTUs of useable heat. In other words, a gallon of oil will net you as much heat as 32.5 KWHs of electricity. In my area, oil is currently about $2.20 a gallon and electricity is about $0.20 per KWH. That means that it would cost me almost 3 times as much to heat the same area with electricity. Your rates will probably be different. There are places where a small electric heater (5000 BTU is small) might make sense, but in most cases there are savings only if your electric rates are extremely low or if you are closing off a large percentage of your home. Note that the link below doesn’t factor in appliance efficiency when making BTU comparisons.
