Dimplex Revillusion Electric Fireplace Log Insert - 20 Inch Faux Wooden Logs, Plug in Electric Heater; Remote Control Included - Supplemental Zone Heat | Model #RLG20

The media could not be loaded. PROS:How many ways can you think of to improve the your quality of life instantly for about $220? This electric log set instantly added coziness to my new (budget) apartment built in 1980 and helped to aid in relaxation immediately post-move. It has a meditative quality to it. Now, I just can’t imagine if I had moved into this apartment without it.If you have some slight social anxiety (or like the typical jitters when meeting someone new or new-ish), this is nice to have as a focal point while sipping wine. (:With the heater “off,” electric inserts are considered safe to leave on (like just the lights/illusion part "on").It is plug and play! Just put the mirrored plastic piece in its place, plug in, and you’re good to go! In my size fireplace, I had to situate the base in first and kinda finagled the plastic piece in after that. I was worried that it wouldn’t fit, but it ended up being perfect (top of arch extends a bit but does not make it look any less pretty).Overall, this is beautiful and as realistic as one may reasonably expect - for this price point and well on up. I still cannot believe the value!CONS:Although turning the side/backlights on (and to the flickering setting) helps to disguise the shine of the plastic piece (as will a screen - great if you have one built into your surround already), you can see a bit of a glare on the plastic (the part that makes the realistic looking “flame” possible). However, this is not a major drawback as when the lights in your home are super dim or off at night (or even with just the TV on), you can’t really see the glare - especially with the side/backlight feature on.The remote could be more intuitive. For safety, I keep the instructions on the shelf with the remote. I may type up and laminate a simpler set of instructions on a card to keep with it. To avoid a panicked moment after you’ve enjoyed your cozy evening with the heater on, READ the instructions beforehand.Finally, this product could be more accessible. If you are unable to hear the “beeps,” you may not know how you have just changed the settings via the remote. There could be changes made to add indicator lights to the side of the base and/or remote to fix this. This would make usage more intuitive for everyone right out of the box.

I love real wood fires in the fireplace. Problem is, I have a a fireplace that, while fairly new, is old school in design. It's terribly inefficient -- no outside air to sustain the fire and no heat exchanger/fan forced air around the fire box. The result is that if you build a nice fire in it you are actually sending your heated house air up the chimney (think $ going out) so that the net effect is an increase in your energy use. I got tired of the high heating bills due in part to using this inefficient fireplace. So after a review of the options, I got this. I figured that at the very least I could close the chimney flue and look at the pretty colored flames while saving utility costs.The unit has more than met my expectations. In the daytime, the reflection from the plexiglass shield is noticeable but at night in a darkened room the flames look absolutely realistic. I did what many have recommended and used a black magic marker to blacken the edge of the shield -- this helped the reflection quite a bit.I wish the unit put out a bit more heat but mine is in a very large great room so I don't really think that is the unit's fault. It's a a 5000 watt (more or less) unit and that would warm up a 10 x 10 x 8 foot room, our great room is probably at least twice that size. But it does put out a noticeable amount of heat and warms up the room quite a bit after it's been operating for 30 minutes or so.My one very minor pet peeve is that the plexiglass shield does not snap firmly into place and it is easily dislodged if you (as I did) have to assemble it before you place it in the fireplace. That was difficult for me to do without bumping it on something and dislodging the shield. But I finally got it in right and once it's in, it's there forever.Another minor issue is that the front legs are rather flimsy. This is not really a big issue because most of the weight of the unit is born by the flat bottom of the heating unit; the front legs are there just to keep it from falling forward. But they are rather flimsy.Haven't seen what effect, if any, this will have on my heating bill but I figure it absolutely cannot be worse than burning wood inefficiently.Very pleased with the unit.