- What Is An Electric Fireplace TV Stand?
- Do Electric Fireplace TV Stands Give Off Heat?
- What An Electric Fireplace TV Stand Looks Like
- Types Of Electric Fireplace TV Stand
- Electric Fireplace TV Stand Features
- Open Shelving
- Electric Fireplace Flame Effects
- Electric Fireplace TV Stand Designs
- Electric Fireplace TV Stand Pros & Cons
- Does An Electric Fireplace TV Stand Need Assembly?
- How To Use An Electric Fireplace TV Stand
- Do Electric Fireplace TV Stands Use A Lot Of Electricity?
- Are Electric Fireplace TV Stands Safe?
- Are Electric Fireplace TV Stands Safe For A TV?
- What Is The Best Electric Fireplace TV Stand?
- Further Reading
Electric fireplace TV stands are popular appliances that integrate both a TV stand and an electric fireplace into one unit.
Electric TV stands offer the ability to place a TV on top of the unit and typically have space for a range of other media devices within open spaces or behind cupboard doors.
We have an electric fireplace TV stand in our living room that we have our TV on.
This electric TV stand is the Tresanti Mayson Media Mantel.
Electric fireplace TV stands can come in a range of designs, sizes and shapes and so we’ve put together this complete guide to electric fireplace TV stands using our own electric TV stand to explain what they are, what they look like, how they work, the types, features and more.
This article provides an overview to electric fireplace TV stands.
For the best electric fireplace TV stands you can buy right now see our electric fireplace TV stand buying guide.
What Is An Electric Fireplace TV Stand?
An electric fireplace TV stand is a TV stand unit with an electric fireplace appliance built in. Electric fireplace TV stands are often linear in design but can also come as corner units, and the electric fire insert will typically be found in the middle bottom of the unit with storage space to the top and sides.
Electric fireplace TV stands combine a typical TV stand with an electric fireplace insert to create one appliance that allows you to place a TV on top of the unit, and to store any other media appliances or other decorations within the shelving and cupboard spaces, while also being able to enjoy the look and experience of a fire.
As an example, our electric fireplace TV stand:
- Is a linear model
- Has an electric fireplace insert located in the middle at the base of the unit
- Has cupboard space behind glass doors on each end
- Has an open shelf below the TV shelf and above the electric fire
Do Electric Fireplace TV Stands Give Off Heat?
Most electric fireplace TV stands give off heat, but a small number of models may not produce supplementary heat and instead offer more realistic flame effects. Always check the model of electric fireplace TV stand for confirmation that supplementary heat is provided before purchasing.
Electric fireplace TV stands will usually provide supplementary heat in addition to the flame effects in the form of a heater built into the electric fireplace insert.
The heater itself will either be in form of an infrared heater or a conventional space heater with blower and heating element.
Our electric fireplace TV stand uses an infrared quartz heater to provide the supplementary heat, which is located at the top of electric insert on our unit and provides an orange glow when on.
You can check whether an electric fireplace TV stand provides heat by looking at either the webpage or the box, where it should be stated that it provides ‘supplementary heat’ or words to that effect.
This 5200 BTU heater is rated to provide heat for spaces up to 1,000 square feet, which is more than enough for our living room.
We can also set the desired temperature of the room on our electric fireplace TV stand using the built-in thermostat control. This temperature can be set between 62 and 82°F (17-27°C) using the remote control or the control panel.
One thing to note is that blowers within the heater of an electric fireplace TV stand can be relatively noisy during operation.
The flames on an electric fireplace TV stand can also typically be used without the heat being on, which is ideal for the warmer months.
What An Electric Fireplace TV Stand Looks Like
Electric fireplace TV stands can often come as one whole unit (like ours did) and so no assembly required, but many models will still need to be assembled out of the box.
The images below show what our electric TV stand looks like from all angles.
There will typically be space out the back of the electric insert inside the TV stand for ventilation purposes.
The front of the electric fireplace in our TV stand can be seen through a glass front panel.
Our electric TV stand also sits on adjustable feet for support.
Types Of Electric Fireplace TV Stand
Electric fireplace TV stands typically come in linear rectangle shape form when looking from the front but may also come as a square shape or be taller than it is wide.
These types, like ours, are often pushed up against a wall.
As electric TV stands can be quite large appliances, they can also be found as corner versions, where the rear of the unit is shaped to fit tidily in the corner of a room.
Electric Fireplace TV Stand Features
Electric fireplace TV stands can come with a range of built-in or additional features that help make it a more pleasant fireplace experience and more useful place for your TV and other media appliances, such as:
- Space on top to support certain size TVs
- Open shelving
- Cupboards
- Electric fire flame effects
- Supplementary heat
- Remote control
TV Space
Electric fireplace TV stands are primarily a TV stand unit and so will always have space on top for a TV to be placed.
Our electric TV stand can hold most flat screen TVs up to 80” and 88lbs (40kg), as stated in the instruction manual.
The images below shows our TV stand with our 32” and 58” inch TVs placed on top for comparison.
Different models of electric fireplace TV stand will be able to hold different sizes of TV’s.
When looking for an electric fireplace TV stand it’s therefore important to consider what size of flat screen TV you have (or will get) and choose a TV stand accordingly.
Open Shelving
Many electric fireplace TV stands (but not all) will have open shelves located above the electric fire for placement of your media appliances or decorations.
The shelf on our electric TV stand spans across the width of the electric fire, but other models may have shelves that span across the whole width of the unit.
Out the back of our TV stand is space for cables to pass through, and the back of the shelf can be removed if needed.
Cupboards
Electric fireplace TV stands also commonly provide storage space within cupboards, either on their own or alongside open shelving.
Our TV stand has full height cupboards at each end of the unit with glass fronts and three shelves within each.
Electric Fireplace Flame Effects
Electric fireplace TV stands will always provide flame effects in the form of an electric fireplace insert.
Our electric TV stand uses a ClassicFlame electric insert and boasts Spectrafire 3D technology for realistic looking flame effects.
We can choose from 5 different brightness’s and 5 different colors for flame effects; examples of which are shown below.
We can also set the flame intensity (5 settings) from calm to roaring.
These flame effects features can be different for each type of electric TV stand and so check before buying.
You’ll typically be able to find that these electric fires can be used with the just the flames only and without any heater being on, as we can with ours.
Supplementary Heat
Electric fireplace TV stands typically compliment flame effects with supplementary heat using a form of heater built into the electric fire.
This heater can either be found in the form of a:
- Conventional fan heater with heating element and blower, or:
- Infrared heater
Our electric TV stand uses an infrared heater to provide supplementary heat, on top of producing flame effects, with the heater outlet visible just above the fire.
Our electric fireplace also does have a blower as well as the infrared quartz heating element to help distribute the heat around the room.
With this heater we can adjust the temperature using the control panel.
The heat settings available range from 62°F to 82°F (17°C to 27°C), adjustable in 2°F or 1°C increments. A thermostat on an electric fireplace will also regulate the heat to keep the room at the set temperature.
There’s also a timer function available that will keep this heater on for a certain length of time before automatically switching off, with settings ranging from 30 minutes to 9 hours.
Again, the settings available for the heaters will differ between different models of electric fireplace TV stand.
In addition to providing supplementary heat, the fan in our electric fireplace TV stand can also be used on its own for cooling purposes.
The heater outlet lights up blue when the fan is running (instead of an orange color when the heater is on).
In the fan mode we can switch between low, medium and high fan speed settings, but unfortunately these fan speed settings aren’t available when using the heater.
This fireplace fan can get quite noisy on high blower speed settings.
We also have the option to oscillate the heat or cooling fan, and when switched on the louvers will move from side to side to help distribute the heat or the air for cooling.
Remote Control
Electric fireplace TV stands will often come with remote controls so that you can operate the electric fire from the comfort of your seat.
Ours came with a remote as shown above, where we can control the:
- Fireplace to turn on and off
- Cooling fan to come on
- Fan/heater to oscillate direction
- Flame speed
- Timer settings
- Heater and output temperature
- Flame intensity
- Flame effect colors
Electric Fireplace TV Stand Designs
You’ll be able to find electric fireplace TV stands in a range of designs, shapes and colors, with looks including:
- Traditional
- Rustic
- Contemporary
- Modern
- Barn
We went for a traditional look electric fireplace TV stand, finished in a birch veneer.
Electric Fireplace TV Stand Pros & Cons
The main advantage of an electric fireplace TV stand is the ability to integrate a TV stand and media console with an electric fireplace to provide a complete entertainment package. However, electric fireplace TV stands can be large and heavy appliances.
| Electric Fireplace TV Stand Pros | Electric Fireplace TV Stand Cons |
| Can be used as a TV stand | Typically large & heavy |
| Storage shelves & cupboards | Fake flames |
| Built-in electric fireplace insert | Blower noise |
| No venting required | Requires electrical supply |
| Instant heat & flames | Can only hold up to certain size and weight flat screen TVs |
Does An Electric Fireplace TV Stand Need Assembly?
Electric fireplace TV stands will often need to be assembled but there are also many models that will come as a complete unit within the box with minimal assembly required. Before purchasing an electric fireplace TV stand check to see if assembly is required and how much work would be involved.
Whether a particular model of TV stand needs to be assembled or not will typically be displayed on the webpage of the product, and you’ll often find instruction manuals on the same webpage where you can check to see how much work would be involved to assemble it.
Many models of electric TV stand will need to be assembled once taken out of the packaging, but you’ll also be able to find models that only require minimal assembly and will come pre-assembled in the box.
Our electric fireplace TV stand came pre-assembled. As a result, the box was quite large and needed at least two people to lift and move.
However, it meant that we could use it straight out of the box and the packaging simply needed to be removed, the fireplace plugged in, and the batteries put in the remote.
We also needed to adjust the feet under the unit to ensure it was level. Help will typically be required with this as you’ll need to tilt the TV stand up to adjust.
How To Use An Electric Fireplace TV Stand
Once an electric fireplace TV stand has been assembled (if it didn’t come as a complete unit), it will need to be plugged into a nearby electrical outlet.
An electric fireplace TV stand will therefore need to be located near enough to an electrical outlet for the power cord to reach. Using an extension cord with an electric fireplace is typically not recommended by manufacturers.
We’ve plugged ours straight into an electrical outlet on a nearby wall.
The main power switch to an electric fireplace insert within an electric fireplace TV stand is often located around the back of the fireplace insert and therefore only accessible through the back of the stand.
The power switch on our electric TV stand was located on the side of the electric fire, which we needed to access and turn on through the back of the TV stand to be able to use it.
Electric fireplace TV stands are often accompanied by a remote control, which can then be used to turn on and operate all the functions on the electric fire.
Your user manual will explain what all the buttons on the remote do for your fireplace.
Do Electric Fireplace TV Stands Use A Lot Of Electricity?
Electric fireplace TV stands will use minimal amounts of electricity with the just the flame effects on, but the heaters within an electric fireplace work much like a conventional space heater and can use a lot more electricity.
Using the heater on an electric fireplace TV stand can be much more cost effective than turning on the gas central heating, however.
If we’re planning on staying in one room of the house then we’ll use the heater on our electric fireplace rather than turn the central heating on. That way we’re only heating the room we’re using.
Our electric TV stand uses a 5200BTU (1500W) heater and so we can say that it would cost us roughly about $0.20 per hour to run the heater.
Using electricity to generate heat can also be more cost effective than gas depending on fuel prices where you live but always check beforehand.
Are Electric Fireplace TV Stands Safe?
Electric fireplace TV stands can be considered one of the safer forms of fireplace as the flames aren’t real and won’t be hot to the touch. However, an electric fireplace TV stand should always be used in accordance with the manufacturers guidelines to maximize safety.
Our electric TV stand uses Safer Plug fire prevention technology by monitoring the temperature of the plug to ensure it doesn’t overheat and potentially cause a fire hazard.
It also came with tip restraint ties that we’ve used to keep the unit firmly attached to the wall.
Are Electric Fireplace TV Stands Safe For A TV?
As long as an electric fireplace TV stand is designed to take the size, weight and shape of a particular TV, and the TV is placed correctly on the stand, an electric fireplace TV stand can be considered to be very safe for a TV.
Our electric fireplace TV stand holds our TVs just fine as the size of the TVs are well below the maximum stated TV size for this TV stand.
A width-long flat surface on which a TV stand can be placed is always beneficial to look for in an electric TV stand, as some models can have different height parts.
What Is The Best Electric Fireplace TV Stand?
See our buyers guide to electric fireplace TV stands for best models you can buy right now.
Further Reading
Best Electric Fireplace TV Stands & Buying Guide
All Electric Fireplace Articles
Electric Fireplace Common Problems & Solutions
A Complete Guide To Electric Fireplace Logs