What's the best option for converting a wood fireplace to electric?
Clyde's version of this project is usually a 1960s-to-'80s ranch with a dated fireplace that's ready for an insert anyway — the question is which kind. A Dimplex electric insert is the simplest, least expensive path, and it finally seals a flue whose damper the river humidity likely rusted years ago. Just know it delivers roughly 5,000 BTU — in this valley's cold-air drainage, that's atmosphere, not heat.
The ranch firebox, three ways
Those 1960s-to-'80s ranch fireboxes around Clyde take an insert well, which means you're choosing between three conversions, not settling for one. Electric: the unit can be a few hundred dollars, no venting, no fuel line, flame at the flip of a switch — and supplemental warmth for maybe 400 square feet. Gas: a sealed insert that actually heats, commonly 70 percent efficient or better; Clyde runs a mix of natural gas and propane by street, and either way it's licensed work we permit with Haywood County. Wood: an EPA insert that turns a drafty old box into real, grid-proof heat. Clyde shares its winters with Canton and Waynesville — cold air drains through this valley — so match the choice to what the room needs on a January night, not a September afternoon.
About that rusted damper
River humidity is quietly deciding part of this for you: it rusts dampers and works on masonry chimneys here faster than in drier towns, and a damper that no longer closes means your current fireplace leaks warm air every day of winter. Whichever conversion you pick, sealing that flue properly is part of our job — and with electric, it's honestly where most of the comfort gain lives.
We're 25 minutes east at the Asheville showroom. The in-home assessment is free — call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Clyde
We install and service fireplaces throughout Clyde and the rest of Haywood County — just 25 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.