Wall mounted electric fireplaces are a popular type of electric fireplace that can be installed on a wall of a home and help to free up floor space compared to other types of electric fireplace.
As with all other types of electric fireplace, wall mounted electric fires don’t have any real flames and so don’t require the same onerous ventilation requirements that can be needed with other types of fireplaces.
This makes a wall mounted electric fireplace a great choice for any home, and we’ve also recently invested in one for our main bedroom.
We went for a vertical style wall mounted electric fireplace as it fit the space available more appropriately than one in the more traditional linear style.
We bought and installed this electric fireplace ourselves and so we’ve put this complete guide to wall mounted electric fireplaces together to explain what they are, what they do, their parts, what’s inside and more.
This article covers general information about wall mounted electric fireplaces.
See our buyers guide to the best wall mounted electric fireplaces for details on the best models you can buy right now, and what to look for and consider when buying.
What Is A Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace?
Wall mounted electric fireplaces are a type of electric fireplace that can be installed onto, or recessed into, a wall, but don’t sit within a wall like built-in electric fireplaces. A wall mounted electric fireplace will typically provide both the imitation of flames and generate heat using a heater.
A wall mounted electric fireplace is a form of electric fireplace that’s designed to be installed off the ground and on a wall.
Wall mounted electric fires offer similar, if not the same, functionality and most other types of electric fireplaces. This includes the ability to show realistic flame effects and to also generate supplementary heat for the room.
However, the main difference lies with the ability to mount it on a wall.
As an example, our wall mounted electric fireplace is installed on our bedroom wall using screws, which can’t be done with our other types of electric fireplaces such as electric stove and electric insert.
Mounting an electric fireplace on a wall can either be done by fixing the unit directly to the wall or installing it onto a bracket which in turn is fixed to the wall, depending on the model of fireplace.
Do Wall Mounted Electric Fireplaces Put Out Heat?
Most wall mounted electric fireplace will generate heat, usually in the form of space heater that blows air though a heating element, but may also be through the use of an infrared heater. It can also be possible to buy wall mounted electric fireplaces that don’t produce any heat and only provide flame effects.
While it’s possible to find a few models of wall mounted electric fireplace that don’t produce heat, the majority of wall mounted electric fires will be able to put out heat.
Heat is a by-product of a real fire and so most electric fireplaces (which don’t contain a real fire) will utilise a form of heater to maximise the realism of the fire.
For example, our wall mounted electric fireplace utilizes a conventional space heater at the bottom of the unit to blow warm air into the room.
It uses a blower to force air through a heating element.
Other types of wall mounted electric fireplace may use an infrared heater instead of a fan heater, which has the benefit of being much quieter.
Are Wall Mounted Fires Any Good? (Are They Realistic)
Wall mounted electric fireplaces are a great purchase for any home when looking to create a focal point on the wall of a room where a real fire couldn’t be situated. Electric fires can’t provide the same fireplace experience as other fireplaces that utilize a real fire, but some models can be very realistic.
If you’re looking to help transform a wall in your then a wall mounted electric fireplace can be the perfect choice.
We had some spare space in the corner of our bedroom and opted for a vertical wall mounted electric fireplace to fill the gap. We’re super pleased with how it looks.
The flame effects aren’t as realistic as we could find with other models of wall mounted electric fireplace, but we would have needed to pay a lot more.
It also produces instant heat on demand, and we can use the accompanying remote while lying in bed.
Are Wall Mounted Electric Fireplaces Noisy?
Wall mounted electric fireplaces that use a conventional fan heater can be quite noisy during operation. However, most electric fireplaces can be used with just the flame effects only, which can be very quiet, and some models will use an infrared heater instead of fan forced, which are silent.
Our own wall mounted electric fireplace has a fan heater and so makes some level of noise during operation.
The noise is generated by the blower rotating inside the unit.
We have other electric fireplaces that also use a conventional fan heaters with blowers and so we knew what noise to expect with this particular electric fireplace.
See our other article on electric fireplace noise to hear how noisy you can expect an electric fireplace to be (that uses a fan heater).
Infrared heaters don’t make any noise and so if you’re looking for a wall mounted electric fireplace that’s as quiet as possible look for one that uses an infrared heater rather than a fan-forced one.
Types Of Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace
While wall mounted electric fireplaces are one type of electric fireplace (along with others such as electric stoves, electric inserts etc), they can also come in different shapes and sizes, purposes, and installations.
The main different types of wall mounted electric fireplace can include:
- Wall mounted or recessed
- Straight or curved
- Linear or vertical
- Indoor or outdoor
- Front view or Multiview
As the name suggests, wall mounted electric fireplaces can be installed straight onto a wall.
However, some models can also be recessed into a wall, meaning that they can sit partially within the wall so that they don’t protrude as far out into the room.
These still differ to built-in electric fireplaces however, which are designed to fit entirely within a wall or other bespoke installation.
Our wall mounted electric fireplace sits directly on the wall and can’t be recessed.
Many wall mounted electric fireplaces will be appliances that have a straight front but you can also find models that have a curved front for added aesthetics.
A curved front won’t achieve anything that a straight one can’t do but these types of wall mount electric fireplace units are on offer.
Our own wall mount electric fireplace comes with a slightly curved front but it’s not something that we were specifically looking for.
Wall mount electric fireplaces are also primarily linear in form (longer in width than they are in height) but you can also buy vertical wall mount versions.
We chose to go with a vertical wall mount electric fireplace because it worked better with the space we had available.
All general wall mounted electric fireplaces will also be for indoor use only.
If you’re looking to install one outside then you’d need to look for a specific outdoor wall mount electric fireplace (we have an article about them here) and a small number of models are available to buy.
Outdoor units are typically provided in a weatherproof cover and so don’t typically produce heat.
While most wall mounted electric fireplace must be viewed from the front, there are some models that are multi-view, meaning that they can be 2-sided or even 3-sided and the flames can be seen from these sides.
Parts Of A Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace
The main parts of a wall mounted electric fireplace include:
- The main frame
- Front viewing area for the flames
- Heater
- Media
- Power cable
- Wall installation fixings
- Controls
Main Unit
The main frame of a wall mount electric fireplace houses all the components that helps it to display flame effects and to also generate heat.
As a result, wall mounted electric fireplaces will have some depth to them, as shown below for our own one.
The size of a wall mount electric fire will depend on the model you buy and a certain model can often be found in a range of sizes to suit your needs and budget.
Electric fireplaces in general also typically comes in a black color but you’ll also find white versions, and a few that may be in different styles and colors.
Flames
The flames are the main focal point of a wall mounted electric fireplace and so much of the front area of the appliance will be the front panel where the flames effects are projected onto.
The flames are often viewed through a glass or plastic front panel. As an example, we attached the glass front panel onto our wall mount electric fireplace after it had been installed.
Heater
The other main component of a wall mount electric fireplace is the heater.
The heaters on these units are typically hidden way behind the front panel out of view. For example, the heater on our wall mounted electric fireplace is located at the base of the unit and blows warm air out the bottom.
For wall mounted electric fireplaces that instead use an infrared heater, it will be more visible at the front of the fireplace.
Media
The media on a wall mounted electric fireplace helps it to look more realistic and can often be found in the form of logs, coals, pebbles or crystals.
Our wall mounted one came with loose crystal effect media that we placed onto the fireplace after it had been installed.
The media on other models of wall mount electric fires may not come loose but come part as the front panel of the fireplace.
Power Cable
Wall mounted electric fireplaces are electrical appliances and can only be operated by first plugging it into a nearby outlet.
It’s typically recommended not to use an electric fireplace with any form of extension cable and so you’ll need to ensure that an electrical outlet is close by to where a wall mounted electric fire will be installed.
The power cable for our wall mounted electric fireplace comes out the side of the unit, and we’ve plugged it into a nearby electrical outlet.
Before installation we made sure that the location would provide sufficient distance for the cable to be plugged in.
Wall Installation Fixings
A wall mounted electric fireplace is designed to live on a wall and so will come with one or more fixing locations on the main unit of the appliance.
Our model of wall mount fireplace has holes along the top and bottom that allowed us to screw it directly onto the wall.
Some models of wall mounted electric fireplace may require a bracket to be installed on the wall beforehand.
Controls
The controls on a wall mounted electric fireplace will typically be found on the side of the unit out of view.
For example, the controls on ours are located on the left side, which operate all the flame effects, lights effects and the heater.
We can also operate our wall mounted electric fire using the accompanying remote control.
What’s Inside A Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace
Like all other types of electric fireplaces, wall mounted electric fireplaces typically contain two main components inside:
- The flame effect components
- The heater components
Both components require space to work, which is why you won’t typically find wall mounted electric fires to be very thin.
Below shows what the inside of our wall mounted electric fireplace looks like.
The base area of the fireplace contains the heater, which is made up of a blower and heating element.
The remainder of the inside of our wall mount fireplace is open space, allowing for the flame effects to be created by reflecting light from the rotating mirrors.
How Wall Mounted Electric Fireplaces Work
Wall mounted electric fireplaces work by:
- Projecting the imitation of flickering flames onto the front screen of the unit.
- Generating heat by using either conventional fan-forced heat or infrared heat to accompany the flames.
Wall mounted electric fires will use a combination of lights and rotating mirrors to project the imitation of flicking flames onto the front panel of the fireplace.
A light source, now most commonly found as LEDs, is used alongside a rotating rod that has a number of strategically placed reflective panels.
As the panels rotate the light is reflected through the flame-design cut-out (on our own model) so that it looks like flames from a real fire when seen from the front of the fireplace.
The media on a wall mounted electric fireplace also typically lights up for added realism. A dedicated light under the crystal media on our fireplace allows us to choose from a range of colors.
A wall mounted electric fireplace will typically also have a form of heater that generates heat on demand. The most common type of heater will be fan-forced but you can also buy models that use an infrared heater instead.
With a fan-forced heater, a blower forces air through a heating element that provides warm air the room.
These functions on a wall mounted electric fireplaces can be operated using the control panel on the fireplace, but many models also come with a remote control that can be used instead, or as well as.
There will often be a display panel somewhere on the front of a wall mounted electric fireplace that shows the current settings and will disappear after a couple of seconds.
Many models will also have a number of other features. For example, our wall mount fireplace has thermostatic control allowing us to keep the room at a certain temperature, and a timer that we can use to make it auto turn off after a period of time or even come on at a specific time of the day, and day of the week.
See our main article on how electric fireplaces work for more information.
Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace Pros & Cons
The main benefits of wall mounted electric fireplaces are that they can be installed onto a wall to help free up floor space and often come with a range of light effects not typically found on other types of electric fireplace. However, installation can often require help or even professional help.
| Electric Fireplace Insert Pros | Electric Fireplace Insert Cons |
| Transform a bare wall | Must be located near wall electrical outlet |
| Some models can also be recessed | Fake flames |
| Complete fireplace in one unit | Noisy heater blowers |
| No venting required | Not always the most realistic |
| Instant heat | Installation help typically required |
Our article on electric fireplace pros and cons covers the benefits and disadvantages of electric fireplaces in more detail.
Installing A Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace
See our dedicated article on how to install a wall mounted electric fireplace for more information where we show how we installed our own wall mounted fire.
Can You Have A TV Above A Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace?
As wall mounted electric fireplace don’t have any real flames, in many situations it can be ok to have a TV installed above. Always check the manufacturer’s guidelines and ensure that the TV isn’t placed too close to the heater outlet.
Although we aren’t going to have a TV near our wall mount electric fireplace, we’re installing an electric fireplace insert under a TV in an existing fireplace.
Are Wall Mounted Electric Fireplaces Safe?
Electric fireplaces can be considered to be the one of the more safer forms of fireplace because there’s no real fire. Wall mounted electric fireplaces should be installed a sufficient distance away from nearby objects in line with the manufacturer’s guidelines to help minimize any safety risks.
What Is The Best Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace?
See our buyers guide to the best wall mounted electric fireplaces that you can buy right now.
Where To Buy Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace
Also see our buyers guide to the best wall mounted electric fireplaces.
Choosing A Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace
When choosing a wall mounted electric fireplace you’ll need to consider:
- Your budget
- The space available on your wall for the fireplace
- Nearby electrical outlets and power cord lengths
- Desired heat output
- Size and shape
- Any additional features such as remote control
We chose a vertical wall mount electric fireplace because it more appropriately fit the space that we had available in the room.
There was also an electrical outlet close by for power.
We chose this particular model of wall mounted fire because it was within our budget, looked modern and stylish to fit with the other décor in our room, had side lights for added effect, decent heat output, and came with a remote control so that we could operate it from the bed.
Our wall mounted electric fireplace buyers guide covers what to look for and how to choose a model that’s right for you in more detail.
Further Reading
How To Install A Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace
How To Remove A Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace
Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace Buying Guide