Electric Fireplace Logs and Inserts: Which Look Most Real?

Full-depth electric fireboxes and water vapor models look the most real, because their flames seem to rise from inside the logs or drift like smoke. A plug-in log set is the simpler choice for an old fireplace: it sits on the hearth and shows your own brick around it. Measure the opening first, and close the chimney damper.

Electric log sets, inserts and fireboxes explained

Electric fireplace logs come in three main forms, and the right one depends on whether you have an unused fireplace.

Log sets. Heat & Glo describes an electric log set as molded “logs” on a metal grate that you set inside an existing wood fireplace and plug into a nearby outlet. An LED flame is projected onto the back wall of the fireplace or onto a panel attached to the set, and a small heater and fan push warm air into the room. The trade-off, Heat & Glo notes, is a cord running out of the front.

Inserts. An insert is a steel box sized to slide inside an existing wood-burning fireplace, with trim that covers the gaps around the edge. Inside are logs and a flame shown on a flame screen, and some add accent lighting or ember media. Dimplex’s 23-inch DFI2309 is a plug-in insert with hand-finished logs and an on/off remote. Dimplex calls a unit framed into a wall where no fireplace exists a firebox rather than an insert.

Freestanding and wall units. If you have no fireplace at all, our electric fireplace guide covers mantel and wall units that plug in anywhere, our guides to small electric fireplaces and wall-mounted electric fireplaces cover stoves for small rooms and units that hang on the wall, and the hub on making a room cozy covers warm lighting.

Which electric fireplace logs look most real?

Realism comes from depth and from how the light moves. Here is how the main flame technologies compare, using each maker’s own description.

1. Full-depth 3D flames. Dimplex’s Revillusion firebox uses a translucent flame panel and a full-depth design, so the flames appear to rise from within the logs and you can see through the fire to the back of the box. Its Realogs are made from real wood molds and glow from within using LED lighting. Dimplex also sells Revillusion plug-in log sets, in 20 and 25-inch sizes, for an existing fireplace opening.
2. Water vapor flames. Dimplex’s Optimyst units use ultrasonic technology to turn water into a fine vapor, then light it so it looks like flame and smoke.
3. LED logs with glowing embers. Many log sets and inserts pair molded logs with an ember bed that glows, plus a flame image behind. Dimplex describes the DFI2309 as hand-finished logs with gently glowing embers.
4. Flat projected flames. Simpler units show a moving flame image on a single back panel. It reads best from straight ahead, so check side-on photos before you buy.

What to measure before you buy a log set or insert

Fit is the most common problem with an insert. Dimplex says to measure the opening’s width, height and depth, and the insert has to clear the inside dimensions on all three. A trim kit sets limits too: the DFI2309’s trim kit lists a minimum opening of 24-5/8 inches wide by 19-1/2 inches high. A log set only has to sit inside the firebox with room for its cord, so check its width and depth against your grate area.

Then check the power. Plug-in models use a standard household outlet, so you need one close to the hearth. Do not run the cord to an extension lead: the CPSC says electric heaters belong directly in a wall outlet, never an extension cord or power strip.

How much heat a log set or insert gives

Most log sets and inserts include a small fan heater, but the flame runs without it. Dimplex lists its 23-inch DFI2309 insert at 1,375 watts, and Heat & Glo puts its inserts and log sets at about 5,000 BTU, enough for supplemental heat in a room of about 400 square feet. That takes the chill off the room you sit in, not the whole house. An old masonry fireplace also loses heat up the chimney, which is one more reason to close the damper.

Vintage electric fireplaces: charm and caution

Older electric fireplaces make their flicker mechanically. A bulb lights a turning reflector or a slotted cylinder, which throws moving light onto a screen behind molded coals or logs. The idea goes back at least to the 1920s: a US patent granted in 1926 describes electric fires with lamp-lit imitation fuel and rotating devices that make the light flicker like flames. The effect is softer than modern LEDs, which is the appeal.

An old electric heater still needs care. Before you plug one in, have a qualified electrician check the cord, plug, wiring and any heating element, and keep it 3 feet from curtains and furniture as you would any heater. If the heater section is in doubt, leave it switched off and enjoy the light alone.

Same safety rules as any electric heater

A log set or insert with its heater on is a space heater, so the CPSC and NFPA rules apply: 3 feet of clearance, a wall outlet, and the heater off when you leave the room or go to bed. Our heated throw safety guide covers the lower-power way to keep warm once the fire is off, and a throw blanket on the sofa finishes the fireside look.