How much does it cost per hour to run an electric fireplace?
In Brevard, an electric fireplace runs at about one and a half times your per-kilowatt-hour rate for each hour of heat — roughly 1,500 watts on the meter — and pennies when you light just the flame. In a town that sees 80-plus inches of rain a year, one quiet perk stands out: electric needs no chimney, so there's no flue for the wet to rot.
A wet climate makes the no-chimney part matter
Transylvania County's rainfall is brutal on masonry — cracked crowns, spalled brick, rusted dampers, especially March through June — and a lot of that damage lives in the chimney. An electric fireplace skips the chimney entirely: it plugs into a standard outlet, vents nothing, and adds instant heat to a room without exposing a new flue to Brevard's wet. To size the cost, take the price-per-kWh off your bill and multiply by 1.5 for a full hour; because that's a fraction of a dollar, an evening's warmth stays small, and the flame-only mode barely registers.
You're in propane country, so weigh the outage limit
Out here you're largely in propane country — the cabins and rural lots around Sherwood Forest and Connestee Falls run on tanks — and against propane's delivery costs and price swings, electric's flat metered rate can look appealing. But be clear on the trade: an electric unit is a 5,000-BTU, single-room supplement, and it can't heat during an outage, which Brevard's storm-prone grid makes a live concern. Propane and wood remain the heat you can count on when the lines go down.
Get it matched to your damp climate
Whatever the fuel, moisture control and correct sizing matter most here. We're about 40 minutes southwest of our Asheville showroom — call (828) 545-0525 for a free in-home assessment, and we'll match the appliance to your room and to Brevard's relentless rainfall.
Fireplace help in Brevard
We install and service fireplaces throughout Brevard and the rest of Transylvania County — just 40 minutes southwest from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- How much electricity does an electric fireplace use?
- Does the flame effect alone use much electricity on an electric fireplace?
- Does an electric fireplace draw electricity when it's switched off or in standby?
- Can an electric fireplace plug into a standard household outlet?
- Do electric fireplaces come in 240-volt versions, and do they put out more heat?