We sell both. We are not going to pretend one is universally better, because the right answer changes completely depending on whether you want a heat source or an atmosphere.
Here is the honest comparison, and then the part that is genuinely difficult to convey in writing.
Heat: not close
A gas fireplace is a heating appliance. It produces real, substantial heat, enough to warm a room and take the edge off adjoining spaces. In a power cut, many gas units with standing pilots or battery ignition will still run — which in a Lower Mainland windstorm is not a trivial advantage.
An electric fireplace produces heat the way a small space heater does. It is genuine warmth for a modest room, but it is not going to heat an open-plan living area, and it draws from the same electrical circuit as everything else.
If your goal is “this room is cold and I want to fix that”, gas is the answer.
Installation: also not close, in the other direction
An electric fireplace needs a power outlet. That is essentially the whole story. It can go on an interior wall, in a media unit, in a basement suite, in a condo where gas is not permitted, and it can be moved later.
A gas fireplace needs a gas line and, for most types, venting to the outside. That means routing, wall or roof penetration, permits, and a certified gas fitter. It is a construction project, not a purchase. On gas line work the routing is frequently what determines where the fireplace can actually go — not where you would like it.
This is why electric wins in condos, strata buildings, rentals, and any room where getting a gas line there would mean opening up finished walls.
Running cost
Gas is generally cheaper per unit of heat than electricity in this province, so for actual heating a gas fireplace usually costs less to run.
But that comparison only holds if you are using it for heat. An electric unit run flame-only, with the heating element off, costs very little — it is essentially running a light. A lot of people do exactly that: flame effect year round, heat on for a few months.
Venting types, briefly
If you go gas, you will encounter these terms:
- Direct vent — sealed combustion, draws air from outside and exhausts outside. The default for most new installs and the most flexible for placement.
- Natural draft / B-vent — uses room air for combustion and a vertical flue. Older approach, more restrictive.
- Ventless — not permitted in most Canadian residential applications; be sceptical of anything sold as such here.
For an existing masonry fireplace, an insert slides into the opening you already have — a different project from a new build-in, and covered in fireplace insert or full replacement.
The three things you can only judge in person
This is the part that spec sheets cannot do, and it is why we keep a showroom with units actually running.
1. Flame quality. Electric flame effects have improved enormously — some are genuinely convincing, and some still look like a screensaver. The difference between a good one and a poor one is obvious at three metres and invisible in a photograph, because photographs of electric fireplaces are taken in the dark by people who want them to look good.
2. How much heat it actually throws. Standing a metre from a running gas fireplace tells you something no BTU figure does. People routinely over-specify because a number sounded impressive, then find the room uncomfortable.
3. Fan noise. Almost nobody asks about this and almost everybody notices it afterwards. Most gas units have a circulating fan; some are near-silent and some hum. In a quiet living room, at night, that hum is either fine or it is the thing you cannot stop hearing. Two minutes in front of a running unit settles it.
Where we land
Choose gas if: you want real heat, you have or can get a gas line, and you want something that works when the power does not.
Choose electric if: you are in a condo or strata, you want the look more than the output, you want it installed this month rather than next quarter, or you might rearrange the room later.
Choose either, confidently, after standing in front of both. Our showroom on 64 Avenue has working gas and electric units running side by side. You do not need an appointment, and nobody will follow you around it.
If you already know which way you are going, we cover gas fireplaces and electric fireplaces in more detail — or come and look at them lit.