For most people it doesn’t get much better than lounging in front of the fireplace enjoying a nice warm drink. However the reality is that for most people it’s simply not feasible to have a fireplace in their home. This is where electric fireplaces come in, and with some costing less than $200 it’s more alluring than ever. Whatever space you live in, be it an apartment, condo or a house that doesn’t have a chimney, all you need to have an electric fireplaces power point, more specifically a 120V outlet.

So how about installation? Well, you literally set it up against the wall and plug it in. I’m not kidding, it’s that simple. You don’t pay any installation costs, you don’t have to have any holes on the wall, any expensive wiring – none of that, you just plug it in. In terms of maintenance, there virtually isn’t any, which suits most as our lives are getting busier and busier.

Electric fireplaces also include a small electric heater which will deliver about 4,500 btu’s per hour of heat around the room, if you so desire. There’s usually a thermostat so you can adjust the heat to your wants, however the controls are not in view so as to not break the illusion. Otherwise you can always just turn it on and enjoy the look of an authentic fireplace.

When it comes to cost they’re much the same as any normal electric heater. Keeping in mind there are different levels at which the heater can be operated, if you have it constantly on at full capacity you’re going to notice an increase to your electricity bill, otherwise unless you have it on 24/7 you probably wont see a notable difference at all. In fact the only downside to electric fireplaces is if they do need to be repaired it can be costly, but the pros far outweigh the cons.