Electric fireplace insert vs electric log set — which should I put in my old fireplace?

What each one looks like once it's in

An electric insert fills the firebox opening edge to edge — glass front, framed surround, a full flame presentation behind it. Trimmed out well, it makes an old fireplace look renovated, not retrofitted. A log set is more modest: a molded grate of logs with a glow-and-flicker effect, sitting in the open firebox roughly where the wood grate used to be. It reads as a lit fireplace from across the room and as an appliance up close. If the fireplace is the focal wall of the living room, the insert earns its extra cost; if it's a seldom-seen den, the log set may be plenty.

The heat is identical either way

Don't let either format oversell you. Both run the same class of heater — about 1,500 watts, roughly 5,000 BTU, supplemental warmth for up to around 400 square feet. Both offer flame without heat for summer evenings. And both go dark in a power outage, full stop — a distinction this region has taken seriously since Helene. If real heat or outage resilience is the goal, the honest answer isn't either electric option; it's a sealed gas insert, and we'll tell you so before you spend a dollar.

Old-firebox practicalities

Two details make or break these projects in the older homes we work on around Asheville. First, seal the flue — an open damper above an electric unit quietly drains your heated room air up the chimney all winter. Second, power: there's rarely an outlet inside a firebox, so plan for a plug-in route or a hardwired circuit; we coordinate with a licensed electrician when the box needs new wiring.

We carry Dimplex — the most convincing electric flame on the market — and you can see insert and log-set formats side by side at the Asheville showroom. Call (828) 545-0525 or come by, and bring your firebox measurements.