1. Electric grills are powered by electricity, not gas.  They plug into a regular outlet.  This means that you can use them anywhere you have access to electricity, including condo balconies.  Some keen home cooks have even put them in their kitchens, for grilling year-round.  And because there’s no propane tank, you’ll never run out of fuel in the middle of cooking a meal.
2. Electric grills offer high searing temperatures plus even heating.  At 650 degrees, the grill will sear your food, locking in flavour, while providing even cooking heat across the entire grill surface. There are no hot spots or cold spots, so the entire surface can be used.  Temperature control is extremely precise
3. Electric grills are safe. Because they operate without gas, there is no open flame, which eliminates flare-ups; there is no chance of gas leaks, and there is no volatile fuel to be stored.  This is one of the reasons that electric grills get the ‘thumbs-up’ from condo owners.
4. Electric grills are smart and easy to use.  Many units offer electronic controls that allow you to program the cooking time of your food, or you can work in manual mode.  Either way, you control the grill with a touch of a button. Programmable cooking ensures perfect results, and the keypad can be locked to prevent accidental changes to your settings.
5. Electric grills are affordable to operate.  It costs just $0.15 per hour to cook with an electric grill.  If you grill for 1 hour, 3 times per week, an electric grill will save you $21.43 per month compared to the cost to operate a propane grill.

Back to Black:  This look is mysterious, masculine, rich and luxurious.  Consider black on black in a room, with black walls, and black furnishings.  There are many electric fireplace models that would work in such a room.  Our favourite is the Amantii WM-95 wall-mounted fireplace in sleek black glass or metallic gray.   It is spectacular installed on a black granite wall.

Glitterati:  There is a return to ‘more is more’ decorating, and styling rooms just for the fun of it.  This is especially true with metallics, and objects that sparkle and shine.  The Dimplex BLF-50 firebox fits this trend perfectly, with its glass embers that sparkle like diamonds.  Buhler has taken this popular firebox and designed 3 media cabinets that beautifully show off the long, lean lines of the BLF-50. 

Hitchcock Heroine:  Perfect for those who still prefer refined, tone-on-tone décor reminiscent of the stylish décor in old movies.  Dimplex unveiled a gorgeous stone and wood mantel that we think you’ll love.  But it’s not available until Fall, so you’ll have to wait a little longer to bring this fireplace into your home.  Meanwhile, the Dimplex Mason mantel is another cool beauty that’s available now. 

Ranch Dreams:  You’ll love this casual vibe if you like a mix of rustic, reclaimed, and romantic in your interiors.  There are several mantels that could work with this look.  Both Classic Flame and Dimplex have stone fireplaces.                                

West Coast Rustic Glamour:  If you love shabby-chic interiors, with a beachy influence, this is your look.  It’s a little worn, with a pale palette of whites, sand, and sea glass blue. There are several lovely wall-mount fireplaces that would fit these rooms.  Amantii makes a 50” wide glass fireplace that has a touch of blue in the glass;  Dimplex has recreated their curved glass fireplace in white, with pale pebbles inside.

• Size of the overall space:  Many homeowners determine the size of the fireplace by the size of the wall on which they wish to install the fireplace.  However, if the wall is small, but the room is large, you may end up with a fireplace that’s too small for the space.  Consider the overall proportions of the space when selecting the firebox and cabinet.
• Ceiling height:  This is a subset of the overall space, but it’s worth discussing separately.  Furniture mantles come in heights ranging from 42” to 54”; built-in mantles are often in the higher end of this range.   If you have an 8’ ceiling height, then a 42” to 43” mantle is low enough to allow you to place a piece of art or a mirror above the fireplace.  If you have high ceilings, you will need to consider a taller mantle, in the 48” to 54” range, so that the fireplace will not look too short in the space. 
• Placement of the TV:  If you plan to hang a flat-screen TV above your fireplace, the height of the mantle is critical to comfortable TV viewing.   Most people find that they are most comfortable watching TV from a seated position, if the bottom of the TV is no more than 42” to 43” off the floor.  This means that your fireplace mantle needs to be this low, unless you are in a very large space, and can get farther away from the TV than 8’ to 10’.   The farther away you are from the TV, the higher you can mount it, and still enjoy comfortable viewing.
• Style of your furnishings:  A fireplace should complement the rest of the room, or make a bold contrasting statement.  If you have elegant, ornate décor, then your mantle could reflect that.  Or, you could add an ultra-contemporary wall-mounted fireplace to the room in order to make a unique statement.  Likewise, a contemporary space calls out for a contemporary fireplace, but if your architecture is more ornate than your furnishings, why not add an ornate mantle to the room?  In other words, anything goes, if you’re comfortable with it.
• Focal point:  If the fireplace is to become a focal point for the room, be sure it can stand up to all the attention.  Too small, too cheap, or too boring are not the impressions you want to make.  Find a way to make the fireplace interesting, through the surrounding materials, the flame effect, or the size.

If this is all a little overwhelming, why not get professional design help to select the perfect fireplace for your room?  After all, it’s an investment that you will enjoy for years to come.

• Do you want to cut into the wall?  If you do, how much depth will you have for the fireplace?
• Do you want to build the wall out to accommodate the fireplace?  If you do, how far into the room do you want to build?
• Do you want to mount the fireplace on the surface of the wall?
• Do you want to have a TV above the fireplace?
• Do you need or want heat from the fireplace?

If you plan to cut into the wall, or build out a wall, to accommodate your fireplace, then it’s best to find out how deep your preferred fireplace is.  Depths range from 4” to 9” for contemporary models, and up to 17” for traditional models that can go into a wall or cabinet.  If you are limited in the depth that you can achieve in your wall, then it’s best to know that before you go shopping.

There are many contemporary electric fireplaces that mount on the surface of the wall.  While many people assume that these can also be inset into a wall, this is usually not the case.  Most units are designed to be either in the wall or on the wall, but not both.  Surface-mounted fireplaces will generally project 4” to 6.5” into the room.  The advantage of surface-mounting is that these units may be removed from the wall when you move, or repositioned to another spot in the home, without leaving a gaping hole in the wall.  It’s also much simpler to install a fireplace on the surface of the wall rather than having to cut through studs and reinforcing the wall cavity in order to mount in the wall.  Either way, the electrical outlet will be needed close to where you want to plug in the fireplace. 

If you prefer a fireplace that offers heat, you will have to consider where the heat is blown out of the unit.  A fireplace that’s designed to go into a wall or cabinet, will expel the heat out a vent in the front of the unit.  A fireplace that’s designed for surface mounting will expel heat out the top or the bottom of the unit.  If you wish to have a TV above your surface-mounted fireplace, they you need to ensure that heat is blown out the bottom of the fireplace, and not the top, where it will directly affect the TV.   There are very few electric fireplaces that have no heater, so it’s best to be knowledgeable about the unit you are purchasing.

Are you struggling to find balance in a room that has both a television and a fireplace?  It’s a common dilemma in many households, and one that’s not easily solved.  In most rooms, the fireplace is positioned to be the focal point, often in the centre of the longest wall.  If there were no TV to consider, furniture placement would be relatively simple.  But throw in a TV, and room arrangements become much more complex, as both the TV and the fireplace need to be the centre of attention.

With the advent of flat-screen televisions, the simplest solution is to place the TV above the fireplace.  There are 2 main concerns with this idea:

• The heat from a wood-burning or gas fireplace is too intense for some TV’s
• The mantel on the existing fireplace is likely too high to allow comfortable viewing of the TV above

When working with a wood- or gas-burning fireplace, these 2 issues are intertwined, because the mantel is necessary to divert the heat from the TV, and it needs to be high enough to meet clearance requirements of the fireplace below.

What to do?  If you replace your gas- or wood-burning fire with an electric fireplace, you can avoid both of these problems.  Since the flame effect of an electric fireplace is created without burning any fuel, there are no clearance issues for fireplace surrounds or mantels.  Thus, you can go without a mantel, or place the mantel low enough to allow comfortable TV watching. (We recommend that the bottom of the TV be no higher than 42” off the floor.)  And at 5000 BTU’s or less, the heat output of an electric fireplace will not damage a TV above it.  (Compare to a typical heat output of 30,000 to 40,000 BTU’s for a gas fireplace.)

An electric firebox can be inserted right into the existing fireplace opening, or you could opt to entirely remove the existing fireplace and start with a fresh new design that incorporates an electric fireplace.  Some electric fireboxes actually come with a reduced heat output, in order to minimize the wattage on the unit, so that it may be plugged into the same circuit as your TV, without overloading the circuit.   This means that if you are not in a position to add a dedicated outlet to the space, you can still have a television and a fireplace operating at the same time.

Another great reason to combine your TV with an electric fireplace is the fabulous selection of media mantels that are available.  Most entertainment mantels allow you to place your TV on or above the fireplace cabinet, while offering open storage below, for your DVD player and service provider’s ‘box’.  There are also wonderful custom cabinets available which offer storage that’s completely hidden behind the panels of the mantel, so that no one knows that your DVD’s and components are stored there.  These custom units are ideal for homes and condos where the TV room is in the living room, and you prefer to hide all the TV paraphernalia from view.

• ‘Evensear’ dual element technology – the top element sears food at 650 degrees F, to lock in flavour, while the lower radiant element provides even heat.  With this technology, the electric grill can cook up to twice as much as a gas grill twice the size, because every square inch performs at the same power, with no cold spots.
• Automatic grilling – on models where this is offered, the grill remembers pre-programmed settings for your favourite foods, and even reminds you when to flip the food, and when it’s finished.  You can always select manual settings, when your favourite automated settings don’t apply.
• No tanks, no lighting, no hassles
• Balcony friendly – because there is no gas, many condo and apartment dwellers can use an electric grill where they would not be permitted to use a gas grill.

PowerChef grills come in 2 sizes.  The compact Convertible grill is a tabletop design, that can also be mounted to the wall, or set up on a pedestal, with or without optional side shelves.  The basic unit measures 21 13/16” wide by 11 9/16” high by 20 3/16” deep.  The full-size grill measures 45” wide by 43.25” high by 21.25” deep, and comes with an optional rotisserie unit and grill cover.

We recently did a taste test with the PowerChef grill, and were pleasantly surprised with results.  One client likes grilling so much that she actually purchased one for her kitchen, where she had made space for it under her ventilation hood. If you are looking for an easy and convenient grilling alternative, consider an electric grill.

An electric fireplace offers flames with or without heat, because the heater is separate from the flame generation unit. In an electric fireplace, the flames are an illusion, created with light and shadow dancing on a backdrop. Logs are lit from within, and the light pulses to mimic the effect of heating and cooling when wood burns. Because there is nothing actually burning, there is no heat generated by the flames. If one chooses to have heat, the heat can be controlled separately from the flames, to provide varying amounts of heat, as set by the user. This means that you can enjoy a welcoming fire for your next summer soiree, without heating up the house, provided that it’s an electric fire.

Not only are electric fireplaces available for the inside of your home, but there are also outdoor models available. The Scottsdale, from Dimplex, features a faux stone finish, with oil-rubbed bronze details, plus built-in speakers, CD player, and AM/FM receiver, with a hidden compartment for an MP3 player. It’s specifically designed for outdoor use, for weather-proof performance.

If you are considering an electric fireplace for your home, keep in mind these basic features of all electric fireplaces:

• They are zero-clearance, so they can be placed on your existing flooring, or on your walls, without the need for inflammable surrounds.
• There is nothing burning, therefore no venting is required. This means you can place them against any wall in the house, or outside.
• Installation is as easy as plugging into any 110 volt outlet, so you can do it yourself.
• There are no fumes, no CO2, no emissions, and no pollutants of any kind. They are 100% efficient – when heat is generated, it stays in the room. There is no standing pilot light. Electric fireplaces are environmentally friendly.
• Because they may be operated with or without heat, the operating cost is very affordable. Without heat, they operate at $.01 to $.02 per hour; with the heater on 50% of the time, operating costs are $.09 per hour.