Purchasing and Electric Fireplace: What is the True Cost?
With the winter months approaching, many home owners begin to think of their home heating options. There are many ways to heat a home such as central heating and air conditioning, furnace heat, steam heat, electric space heater heat, fireplace heat, wood burning stove heat, and electric fireplaces. If you are considering one or more of these options, probably the first thing that comes to your mind is, “how much money is this going to cost me?”
Maybe you are thinking of purchasing one of the electric fireplace inserts that you have seen on the market this coming winter and you would like to know how much these home heating items cost to operate. Certainly you would not want purchase something that is not cost effective for you as a home owner. You must look beyond the initial purchase price of the electric fireplace insert and evaluate the ongoing costs of operation such as energy requirements and maintenance to figure out the true cost of running an electric fireplace insert.
An electric fireplace insert will generally cost as much to operate as a standard electric room heater. Most of the electric fire place inserts on the market today come equipped with multiple heat output settings. These multiple heat output settings allow you to adjust the amount of electricity wattage you are using based on how much heat you need for your room size and the weather conditions at the time. For example, most fire place insert units can be adjusted between output ranges of 600 watts and 1800 watts. This will obviously allow the home owner some flexibility in controlling how much heat is used and therefore how much the electric fireplace insert is costing to operate.
Another factor to consider in the operating cost of your electric fireplace insert is the cost of electricity. Obviously, the price of electricity where you live will be a factor in how much your electric fireplace unit costs to operate. Therefore, if you live in an area that has a very low electricity cost, an electric fireplace insert may be a very cost effective way for you to decide to heat your home. You can determine the electricity cost rate in your area by looking at a past electric bill for your home or by calling the electric company that serves you and asking to speak to a customer service representative. Some electricity providers even offer a rebate for installing new and/or energy efficient appliances. The electric fireplace insert you choose may fall into this category, so check with your electric company about this as well. Of course, this would be a one time cost savings, but still something to factor into your calculations.
The last thing you should take into consideration when trying to calculate the cost of operating and electric fireplace in your home is your current climate. If you live someplace where the winters are particularly long and harsh, you are obviously going to be running your heating device quite a bit and for several months out of the year. If you live in an area where the winter climate is mild, your electric fireplace insert will not be running as long throughout the day and the number of months you even use your unit per year will be minimal.