Electric Stoves

Buying guide

An electric stove, often called an electric log burner, is the simplest way to put a stove in a room. There is no flue, no fuel and no installer to book. You take it out of the box, stand it where you want it and plug it in. The trade-off is heat: it is a top-up or a heater for a smaller room, not a replacement for a log burner in a big one.

What is an electric stove?

An electric stove is a freestanding electric fire in the shape of a traditional stove, with a door, a window and a fuel bed of moulded logs. Behind the glass, LEDs project a moving flame picture onto the fuel bed. A fan heater, usually in the top or base, blows warm air into the room, and you can run the flame on its own whenever you just want the look.

The Adam Woodhouse measures 630mm wide, 540mm high and 300mm deep, with an LED flame and log fuel bed and heat settings of 0.9kW and 1.8kW. It comes in matt black or, as the Woodhouse in pure white, in gloss white.

How the flame effect works

Early electric fires used a spinning foil reflector and a bulb, which gave a flicker but little realism. Modern stoves like the Woodhouse use LEDs: rows of small lights behind a shaped screen create flames that rise and fall across the fuel bed, and the logs themselves glow from beneath. The effect is brightest in a dim room and softer in daylight, much like a real fire.

When you compare electric stoves, look at three things: the fuel bed (moulded logs look more like a stove than pebbles or crystals), how the flame is projected (onto the fuel bed or a back panel), and whether you can adjust the brightness or run the flame without heat. The Woodhouse pairs an LED flame with a log fuel bed, and the flame runs with or without the heater.

Why choose an electric stove?

• No chimney or flue. It works in flats, new builds, bedrooms and garden rooms where a log burner is not possible.
• No installation. It plugs into a standard socket. There is no HETAS or Gas Safe engineer to book and no building work.
• No fuel or mess. Nothing to store, carry, light or clean out, and no chimney to sweep.
• Flame without heat. Run the flame on its own on a mild evening or in summer.
• Move it. It is light enough to move between rooms or take with you when you move house.
• Allowed anywhere. Smoke control areas, leases that ban open flames and rented homes are not a problem.

How much heat does an electric stove give?

The Woodhouse has two heat settings, 0.9kW and 1.8kW. Using the usual rule of about 1kW per 14 cubic metres of room, 1.8kW on its own suits a room of about 25 cubic metres, for example a 4m x 2.6m bedroom with a 2.4m ceiling. In a larger living room it works as a top-up alongside central heating, taking the edge off a cold evening or warming the room you sit in without heating the whole house.

Running cost. An electric heater turns all the electricity it uses into heat in the room. On the 1.8kW setting, an hour uses 1.8kWh; on 0.9kW, an hour uses 0.9kWh. Multiply by the unit rate on your electricity bill to get the cost per hour. The LED flame on its own uses far less than the heater, so running the flame alone is cheap. Because prices change, check your own tariff rather than relying on a figure from a website.

Electric, wood or bioethanol?

If a real flame matters and you have no chimney, look at bioethanol stoves such as the OKO S4. If you have a chimney and want real heat, a 4kW or 5kW log burner gives several times the output.

Electric stove or electric fire?

Electric heat comes in several shapes, and the right one depends on the room. A freestanding electric stove gives the cosy, traditional look of a log burner and can move from room to room. A wall mounted electric fire hangs flat on the wall like a picture, leaves the floor clear and suits a modern living room or a space under the TV. An inset electric fire slots into an existing fireplace opening, and a media wall fire is built into a stud wall for a long, letterbox flame. If your heart is set on the look of a stove in a fireplace, the stove is the one to choose; if floor space is tight, a wall fire may suit better.

Where to put an electric stove

An electric stove can go almost anywhere with a socket, but it looks most at home where a real stove would sit.

• In a fireplace recess. Stand it on the existing hearth or a new one. An old chimney should be capped and ventilated, or blocked off neatly, so draughts do not come down it.
• On a hearth in the room. A glass or granite hearth under the stove gives it the proper stove look, even though an electric stove does not need one.
• In a bedroom or snug. At 1.8kW it is well matched to a small room, and the flame-only setting makes a calm night light.

Keep the area in front of the heater outlet clear, and do not cover the stove or dry clothes on it. Check the manual for the clearances it recommends. Avoid bathrooms and other damp rooms unless the manual says the stove is suitable for them.

An electric stove is also a good stop-gap. If you plan to fit a log burner later but are waiting for a chimney survey, a liner or the budget, an electric stove gives you the look in the meantime and can move to a bedroom afterwards. It can also stand in an old fireplace recess on the existing hearth, with the unused chimney capped and ventilated to stop draughts.

Looking after it is easy: unplug it and dust it now and then, wipe the glass with a soft cloth when it is cool, and keep fluff away from the heater grille so it can draw air freely. If the heater cuts out, it may be a safety cut-out responding to a blocked outlet; switch off, let it cool, clear the space and try again.

Before you buy: a quick checklist

• Measure the space. The Woodhouse is 630mm wide, 540mm high and 300mm deep. Check it against your recess or hearth and leave room around it as the manual recommends.
• Find the socket. Plan where the cable will run so the stove can be plugged straight into a wall socket.
• Be realistic about heat. Up to 1.8kW heats a small room on its own or tops up a larger one. For more heat, look at a gas or wood stove.
• Choose the colour. Matt black for a traditional fireplace, gloss white for a lighter, modern room.
• Think about the setting. A hearth, a log basket or a fire surround turns a plug-in stove into a proper focal point. See our fire surrounds.

Plugging in safely

A heater draws a lot of current for long periods, so plug it straight into a wall socket rather than an extension lead or adaptor, and keep the cable where it will not be trodden on or trapped under furniture. The Woodhouse cable exits on the right as you look at it (1.7m long on the white version), so place the stove with a socket in reach. Switch it off when you go out or go to bed. Electric stoves produce no carbon monoxide, but if you also have a gas or solid fuel appliance in the home you still need the alarms the regulations require for those.

Styling an electric stove

Because there is no flue, an electric stove does not need stove pipe, but many people like the look of one rising into the chimney breast. Black suits a traditional brick or stone fireplace and a dark hearth; pure white suits a pale, modern room or a painted fireplace. Add a basket of logs beside it and a granite or glass hearth beneath, and few people will know it is electric until they look closely. If you prefer a fire that hangs on the wall or fits a fireplace opening, see wall mounted electric fires and inset electric fires.