What does the consumption of an electric fire cost?

Want to bring atmosphere and warmth into your home at low consumption costs? This is possible with an electric fire! Unlike with a gas or wood fire, there is no combustion when burning an electric fire. The fire runs on electricity, which is generally cheaper than gas or wood. No wonder, then, that people are increasingly opting for an electric fire. But what exactly are the costs of using an electric fire? We will answer that in this blog!

In this blog, we will give you information on the cost of consuming an electric fire, among other things. We are going to talk about:

How the electric fire works
Consumption costs of the electric fire
Purchase costs and installation of an electric fire

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How the electric fire works

No combustion, no smoke and... no connection to a supply and exhaust system is required. The electric fire is therefore suitable for any living situation!

Most electric fires work with projection technology. Using a screen and carefully placed mirrors for 3D effect, the flames of the image are projected onto the logs. You also come across variants without a projector but which use, for example, water vapour for the fire effect.
DRU has used real wood fire recordings which ensures that the flames in our fires are almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

You read it right, the flames of the electric fire are not authentic, but are so close that they give you the same authentic feeling. This is enhanced by adding sound effects and a heat element. Also, you can often choose between multiple flame images and even the glow image can be completely tuned in colour and light intensity to your liking.

In addition, no combustion takes place when stoking an electric fire. This makes it possible to place the fire in any house and in any room in the house! So the electric fire offers endless possibilities.

Heat and atmosphere without combustion

How does the electric fire generate heat when there is no combustion? Well quite simply! The electric fire reproduces the fire image and sound of a 'real' fireplace. All you need for the fire is space and access to an available power socket.

Nowadays, all DRU electric fires are equipped with a heating element that you operate separately from the flame image. A fan moves the heat produced by the element into the room where the fire is located. As there is no combustion or real fire involved, the electric fire is cleaner and safer than a gas or wood fire.

An electric fire suitable as a main heating system? You can read about it in our blog!

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Controlling the fire with a remote control or app

Operating the electric fire is very simple. The electric fire comes with a remote control. You can also choose to link an app to the fire. At the press of a button on the remote control or in the app, you can switch the fire's flame pattern and heating element on or off.

The operation of the electric fire makes it easy to control the flame-effect and heat output with the remote control or app. Want to bring atmosphere into your home, but don't need heat? You can do that too with the electric fire!

Want to know more about the pros and cons of the electric fire?

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Consumption costs of an electric fire

An electric fire does not need expensive fuel like gas or wood, but it consumes electricity and you have to pay for that too. As we explained earlier, it is possible to turn on the electric fire but not use the heating element. Whether or not you turn on the heating element has a lot of impact on the cost of electric fire consumption. In the following two calculation examples, we explain to you in detail the consumption costs of the electric fire.

1. Cost of consumption electric fire with heat output

Most people use the electric fire for atmosphere. The fact that the fire can also heat is an additional advantage. But in most cases, the heating element of the electric fire is still switched on when using it.

Using the heating element of the electric fire has the most effect on consumption costs. This is because it consumes the most electricity. Using a simple calculation example, we show you what it costs to fire the electric fire with heat output.

Calculation example
We assume you use the fire on the high heating setting for 1 hour and then switch it back to the lower heating setting for 2 hours.

The fire uses 2000 watts per hour on the highest heating setting and 1000 watts per hour on the lower heating setting
Average energy costs are €0.50 per kWh (based on average tariff March 2023)

During an evening's heating, you then consume:
(1 hour * 2000 watts = 2000 watts) + (2 hours * 1000 watts = 2000 watts) = 4000 watts (or 4kWh) per evening

4 kWh * €0.50 = €2 per evening*.

*The cost per evening varies depending on the type of fire, usage and your energy subscription.

2. Costs of using an electric fire without heat output

You will probably not always use the heating element of the electric fire, but turn it on for the atmosphere. This will save you energy costs and make an evening 'stoking up' even cheaper. With a calculation example, we explain what the consumption costs of the electric fire are if you don't use the heating element.

Calculation example
For this calculation example, we assume that you leave the fire on for 3 hours without switching on the heating element.

The fire uses an average of 50 watts per hour when not using the heat setting
The average energy costs are €0.50 per kWh (based on average tariff March 2023)

During an evening stoking you then consume:
3 hours * 50 watts = 150 watts (or 0.15 kWh) per evening

0.15 kWh * €0.50 = €0.075 per evening*

*The cost per evening varies depending on the type of fire, usage and your energy subscription.

Purchase costs and installation of electric fire

The cost of using an electric fire is much lower than that of a gas or wood fire. But before you can use the electric fire, you need to purchase and install it, and this involves costs. We explain which costs for the electric fire you need to take into account besides consumption.

Purchase costs for an electric fire

The purchase cost of an electric fire depends on the appliance you choose. Take a look at our appliances.

Want an indication of the appliance price?

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Installing an electric fire? It works like this!

Earlier we told you that the electric fire does not need to be connected to a chimney or flue. All you need to install the electric fire is access to an available power outlet. So the placement and installation of an electric fire is easy, saving you time and money!

DRU electric fires are all built-in fires . This means that the fires are not suitable for free-standing installation. When installing the fire it is therefore necessary to place it in an (already existing) hearth or surround.

Compared to placing and installing a gas fire or wood fire, installing an electric fire is very easy. If you already have an existing surround or fireplace, you place the fire in this space. You connect it to the electricity network et voilà, the fire is ready for use. If you haven't yet created a suitable place for the fire, you still need to build it.