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People tend to avoid electric fires because they think they'll be expensive to run, but modern ones are (even more) efficient and electric heating is the way things are going
I'm not sure it is, not directly anyway. An electric heater is 99.something% efficient but a heat pump is 300-400% efficient. Seems a better way to go if you want heating. It's of course different if you want a thing to look at.
jellybaby-
Definitely the better way to go but heat pumps cost £9-18k (that's the range for air and ground source). I'm sure they're the future and costs will come down, but I don't think they're the near future for most people.
To reach the 2050 target of net zero emissions government has to move over to plentiful low carbon electricity, hence that consortium led by Rolls Royce looking to build (relatively) large numbers of small modular reactors. Gas usage will be actively discouraged in the near future and electric will be the viable alternative.
IMO ;)
Fox
@Silly_Savage
Seriously, modern electric fires are very efficient, they do kick out plenty of heat and they don't need a flue/chimney (which is good, because a gas fire loses up to half of its heat via the flue).
Modern ones do often look like a flat screen TV and you can have them flush mounted to the wall. They normally plug in with a standard plug, so you might want to have a new recessed socket put in to hide any wires or have it wired in permanently by a spark.
People tend to avoid electric fires because they think they'll be expensive to run, but modern ones are (even more) efficient and electric heating is the way things are going because of climate change (gas heating won't be allowed in new builds in five years time) so we're all going to have to get used to paying for more electric. In a way you'll be future proofing yourself.
So if the look works for you, no reason not to. Have a look at Dimplex, Celsi or Flamerite.
The ironically named Gazco look really nice too if you're feeling spendy. Don't know if the brand is well rated though.