What's the cheapest fireplace option for a rental or apartment where I can't remodel?

Why electric is the renter's play

Every other fireplace type needs something a landlord won't let you touch — a flue through the roof, a gas line, a hole in an exterior wall. Electric needs an outlet. A freestanding unit sits against the wall like a piece of furniture and requires zero permission; a wall-mount hangs on a few anchors like a TV, which most landlords will wave through with an email. And when the lease ends, it leaves with you — the only fireplace you'll ever own that moves.

We carry Dimplex, which makes the most convincing electric flame on the market, and most units include a flame-only mode for summer evenings when you want the look without the heat.

Be clear-eyed about the heat

An electric fireplace tops out around 5,000 BTU — roughly a 1,500-watt space heater with a much better personality — enough to warm up to about 400 square feet as supplemental heat, not a replacement for the building's system. And we'll say it plainly: in a power outage, it's dead. After Helene left much of WNC dark for days, that distinction stopped being academic. For a renter it's usually an acceptable trade — outage heat in an apartment building isn't your problem to solve the way it is in your own cabin up a mountain road.

When the lease turns into a mortgage

The math changes the day you own the walls. Then a recessed electric built-in, a direct-vent gas unit, or a full hearth is on the table — a gas fireplace typically runs $3,500–$8,000 installed, and direct-vent is the go-to for adding fire to a room that never had it. Until then, come see the Dimplex line at our Asheville showroom on Emma Road and we'll point you to the right unit for your space — and we'll tell you straight if a plain space heater would serve you better. Call (828) 545-0525 with questions.