What's the best option for converting a wood fireplace to electric?

Old masonry north, newer builds south

Montford and North Asheville are full of original masonry fireplaces that deserve to stay looking exactly as they do — and an electric conversion is the gentlest option there is. The insert sits in the cleaned-out firebox, the flue gets sealed against those nights that stay in the 20s well into early spring, and the mantel, brick, and tile never get touched. Lift the unit out someday and the fireplace is exactly what it was.

South Asheville's newer construction is the opposite case — clean openings, modern rooms, and spaces where a linear electric like the Dimplex IgniteXL Bold 50 we display looks like it was designed in from the start.

The gas-main question worth asking first

Much of Asheville sits on natural-gas mains, which means the honest comparison isn't electric versus nothing — it's electric versus a sealed gas insert that commonly runs 70 percent efficient or better and can keep burning through an outage with the right ignition. Electric gives you about 5,000 BTU, roughly 400 square feet of supplemental warmth, and nothing when the grid goes down. If this is the room your family actually lives in, we'd rather walk you through both before you spend anything. We're licensed gas contractors, and if the answer turns out to be gas, we pull the permit with Buncombe County and meet the inspector.

Watch one burn on Emma Road

This is the one decision where living in Asheville is an outright advantage — our showroom at 629 Emma Rd has the Dimplex flame burning a few steps from live gas units, so you can judge the difference with your own eyes instead of a spec sheet. Come by, or call (828) 545-0525 for a free in-home assessment and we'll look at your firebox where it sits.