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Do Electric Fireplaces Use a Lot of Electricity?

Home/Resources/Heating & Cooling/Electric Fireplace Running Cost
DH
Written & researched by Derek Holt Home & Appliances Editor
Updated August 2026
Overhead view of a person adjusting a wall thermostat in a warm hallway, in warm evening lamplight

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The short answer: an electric fireplace draws about 1,500 watts with the heater running and 10 to 60 watts for the flame effect alone. At the US average residential rate of roughly 17 cents per kWh (Energy Information Administration), that is about 26 cents an hour heating and well under a penny an hour for the visuals. Four hours an evening through a five-month season works out to roughly $190. It is not expensive per hour — it becomes expensive when it runs all day or heats more than one room.

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What does it actually cost per hour and per month?

Multiply kilowatts by your rate. A 1,500-watt unit is 1.5 kW, so at 17 cents per kWh it costs 25.5 cents an hour at full heat. The low heat setting on most models is 750 watts, halving that. Rates vary enormously by state — the EIA puts residential electricity near 11 cents per kWh in Idaho and above 30 cents in California and much of New England, so run the math on your own bill rather than on a national average.

ModeWattsCost per hour at 17¢/kWh4 h/day for 30 daysSeason (4 h/day, 5 months)
Flame effect only10 – 60 W$0.002 – $0.010$0.20 – $1.22$1.02 – $6.12
Low heat750 W$0.128$15.30$76.50
High heat, 120 V1,500 W$0.255$30.60$153.00
240 V hardwired3,000 – 5,000 W$0.510 – $0.850$61.20 – $102.00$306.00 – $510.00

The 240-volt row is worth flagging because it surprises people. Large built-in linear fireplaces are often available in a hardwired 240-volt version rated 3,000 watts or more, and they cost two to three times as much per hour to run as the plug-in kind. They also require a dedicated circuit installed by a licensed electrician.

Golden-hour view of a person adjusting a wall thermostat in a warm hallway

How does it compare to other room heaters?

Against another resistive heater, it is a wash. Every 1,500-watt electric heater — fireplace, ceramic tower, oil-filled radiator — produces exactly the same heat for exactly the same money, because they all convert electricity to heat at essentially 100 percent. The differences are in how the heat is delivered and how it feels, not in the running cost. Against a heat pump or gas, an electric fireplace is expensive.

Wide view of a person adjusting a wall thermostat in a warm hallway, in soft early-morning light

How do I keep the running cost down?

Use it as a zone heater and lower the thermostat elsewhere. That is the only strategy that produces real savings: drop the central setpoint several degrees, heat the room you are in, and let the fireplace cover the difference. Owners consistently report this pattern working well in a living room or a finished basement, and consistently report disappointment when a fireplace is expected to warm an open-plan floor on its own.

Beyond that, use the thermostat if the unit has one rather than running the element continuously, run flame-only when you want atmosphere rather than heat, and check what the unit realistically covers — most 1,500-watt models are rated for about 400 square feet, and the practical limits are covered in how many square feet an electric fireplace heats. If yours is not keeping up at all, start with why is my electric fireplace not heating, and for the buying decision see are electric fireplaces worth it.

Straight Answers

Frequently Asked

Is an electric fireplace cheaper to run than central heating?

For one room, usually yes. Running a 1,500-watt insert costs about 26 cents an hour at the US average residential rate of roughly 17 cents per kWh. A gas furnace heating a whole house costs more per hour than that in most climates, so heating only the room you occupy and letting the rest of the house sit cooler is the saving. Heat the whole house with electric fireplaces, though, and it becomes one of the most expensive options available.

Do electric fireplaces raise your electric bill much?

One unit used a few hours an evening is a modest line item. At 4 hours a day for 5 months, a 1,500-watt fireplace adds roughly $38 a month, or about $190 over a heating season, at 17 cents per kWh. Owners who report bill shock almost always describe leaving it on all day or running two units. The flame-only mode is the cheap habit — at 10 to 60 watts it costs under a dollar a month even running most evenings.

Can I run an electric fireplace on a regular outlet?

A 120-volt model, yes, but give it a dedicated circuit. At 1,500 watts it draws 12.5 amps, and the National Electrical Code limits a load running three hours or more to 80 percent of the breaker rating — exactly 12 amps on a 15-amp circuit. That means a standard 1,500-watt fireplace already exceeds the continuous allowance of a 15-amp circuit. Manufacturers universally prohibit extension cords and power strips; plug directly into a wall receptacle.

Does the flame effect use much power on its own?

Almost nothing. With the heating element off, an LED flame effect and its motor draw about 10 to 60 watts, comparable to a couple of light bulbs. That is roughly 0.2 to 1 cent per hour. It is the reason so many owners run the visuals year round and only switch on the heat when the room is genuinely cold — the appearance costs nothing meaningful, and the heat is the entire electricity bill.

Are electric fireplaces 100 percent efficient?

At the appliance, yes — resistive heating converts essentially all incoming electricity into heat in the room, with no flue losses. That fact is often used in marketing to imply cheapness, which it does not. Efficiency at the plug says nothing about the cost of the energy, and electricity costs several times more per delivered BTU than natural gas in most of the US. A heat pump, which moves heat rather than making it, delivers two to four times more heat per kWh.