Contemporary Fireplaces
Contemporary fireplaces are a great alternative to the old log-burning types. Instead of burning wood and creating a lot of smoke, today's fireplace models allow you to use gas or even electricity to keep your home warm and comfortable. Not only that, but contemporary models are also leagues easier to install than traditional styles. You do not have to rip out any of your walls or create a chimney as they require no chimney or special installation.
Often contemporary fireplaces are easy enough to install that you can do it yourself. Gas-burning or powered fireplaces need only to be set up and turned on, while electric styles only need to be plugged into a wall to be effective. However, while these two types are essentially providing the same comforts there is one main difference: the fire.
Electric fireplaces do not actually contain any fire. They often have fake logs with an artificial fire burning within and over them, though some newer and more abstract models display a fire on a screen. As there is no actual fire, the heat that is produced is done like a mini-heater, much like the ones that you may purchase do heat up an individual room. The heat they provide is effective enough to warm a medium-sized room.
Gas burning contemporary fireplaces do actually produce a fire, much like a gas-powered stove. However, the fire is not blue like it is in a stove as many fireplace manufacturers create their models to burn ethanol or denatured alcohol. The fire that is produced with these types of fireplaces is completely smoke free and is also completely safe. The fact that there is an actual fire burning gives this type a real heads up over electric models, and they can heat even larger rooms than electric styles as well.
The downside to gas fireplaces is that you will have to replace or refill the gas every once in a while. This is especially true if you use it often or have left it sitting for a prolonged period of time. Also the temperature is not adjustable in many models, and in the ones it is adjustable in it can be as hard to control as it is with gas-burning stoves. Electric fireplace models do not require any maintenance, and the temperature is much easier to control than it is with gas models.
Whichever style you may choose, you know you are making the right choice. These kinds of fireplaces can be placed anywhere in a room, even in the center, and they do not require a chimney. Contemporary fireplaces may not have that old world charm that log-burning ones do, but they do have some definite benefits over them.