Which is cheaper to run, a gas fireplace or an electric fireplace?
In Leicester, the answer has a rural twist: electric is cheapest for flame-only looks, but many properties out here run on propane with limited electrical service — and a 1,500-watt electric heater is both the priciest BTU and a real load on a thin panel. For heat, propane or wood wins.
Limited service, and the electric-heater load
Some of Leicester's remote large-lot properties have limited electrical capacity, and that reframes this question. An electric heater's 1,500-watt draw isn't just expensive to run — it competes with everything else on a thin panel and quits entirely in an outage. A sealed propane unit or a wood stove makes far more heat with none of that electrical load, and keeps working when the grid's down. Propane burns hotter per unit, so a licensed contractor sets the orifices; we pull the Buncombe County permit.
Wood country, cold hollows
Wood heat is popular on these large wooded lots, and cold-air drainage runs the rural valleys 5 to 8 degrees colder than Asheville on clear winter nights, so real output matters. A wall-mount electric like the IgniteXL Bold 50 stays the cheap, no-service pick for pure ambiance, but it won't carry a cold room on roughly 5,000 supplemental BTU. We're 15 minutes west of our Emma Rd showroom — call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Leicester
We install and service fireplaces throughout Leicester and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- What's the difference between a gas fireplace and an electric fireplace?
- Does an electric fireplace put out as much heat as a gas fireplace?
- Is it cheaper to heat your house with wood or with gas?
- Does a gas fireplace add more home value than an electric fireplace?
- Is it worth switching from a wood-burning fireplace to an electric fireplace?