What's the best option for converting a wood fireplace to electric?
Be careful with this one in Waynesville. At 2,644 feet, running 10 to 15 degrees colder than the lower towns with a heating season about three weeks longer than Asheville's, an electric insert's roughly 5,000 BTU is ambiance, not heat. The right version of this conversion here is a Dimplex insert in a room that already has dependable warmth — with the old flue properly sealed.
Sealing the flue pays first in Hazelwood
A lot of Waynesville's older housing — Hazelwood especially — still has drafty open fireplaces, and at this elevation an open damper is expensive: warm air pours up the stack through a heating season that runs about three weeks longer than Asheville's. Here's the part most people miss about a wood-to-electric conversion: sealing that flue is where the real money is. The Dimplex insert is the visible half of the project; the cap and damper seal are the half your heating bill notices. In a town this cold, we'd argue the seal alone justifies the visit.
The Waynesville-honest comparison
Homes at nearly 2,650 feet rely on their hearths more than homes in the valleys do — so if the fireplace you're converting is a working heat source, electric is a downgrade, full stop. It draws about 1,500 watts, warms maybe 400 square feet, and goes dark the moment the power does, which after Helene is not an abstract concern up here. A sealed gas insert — Haywood County runs a mix of natural gas and propane depending on the street, and as licensed gas contractors we handle either, permitted with the county — or an EPA wood insert turns the same opening into real heat instead.
If it's the den fireplace and the house heats itself fine, electric is a perfectly honest choice. We're 35 minutes east; the in-home assessment is free. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Waynesville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Waynesville and the rest of Haywood County — just 35 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.