We have an existing fireplace in an older renovated home, and during winter we had always thought that activating it by burning packaged eco-friendly logs by duraflame (that are quite expensive) will supplement the main heat source which is the steam boiler. Wrong. All those flames, including the existing heated air in the home are sucked out of the flue and lost. Remember the principle: hot air rises to a zone with less pressure, and cold air goes to the ground. So during the times the fireplace is unused, and you do not have a good damper which seals the flue (or forget to close the damper) all the cold air goes into the house via the chimney, and all the warm air inside the house escapes through it likewise. So, we sealed/stuffed/plugged the existing chimney opening at the throat damper with paper backed fiberglass insulation and inserted the Classicflame 220v model. We figured that in the future should the unit break or when we want real flames then we can just remove the insulation. With an electric fireplace, ALL the heat produced goes into the house. I read the other reviews that the 110v model is not really a good heat source, which is of primary importance to us. But if you have enough heat in the house and just want to go for more realistic flames substitute to an existing fireplace that has a good damper/seal, then I would suggest looking at the Dimplex models, which you can see at Raymond and Flannigan stores. With this model the forefront are the stationary log embers, and the flames are in the background. With the dimplex and the home decorator's model that I saw at home depot, the dancing flames which had blue, orange, yellow tones, were the star. I relied on youtube videos for the Classicflame but I would say that it looks much better in the actual installation. Another consideration is the existing fireplace opening, in our case the width was just right, but we had to create a platform with 2 x 3 studs, (painted it black) to raise the unit. The hardest part was hardwiring to the electrical panel as the 220v model has to be hardwired, so this requires a licensed electrician. So you do need to consider the added cost of the labor and materials. You'll need 12/4 bx cable (approx. $1.50 per foot), and the cable moulding to conceal the wires of the bx cable and the thermostat wire. One has to determine the path of the bx cable to the panel as well, and will involve drilling on a floor or wall etc. Our fireplace brick is white, so we concealed the bx cable with plastic cable moulding from home depot. The ash cleanout may also be used as a path (if the panel is in the basement, and will avoid drilling. So now that it is installed, I will never have to worry about the draft coming from the chimney flue, nor do I have to buy expensive logs or clean ashes/soot. I can control the unit with a button on the remote, choose to have heat or not, The unit was not noisy as other reviews had it. But if you do not want the hassle of all the additional work, just get the plug in 110 volt model. If you are particular about the supplemental heat, then this model will work for you. But before purchasing the unit, study the cabling path, check your electrical panel if you have spares, etc. Hope this helpsPurchased in 2017 has worked well ever since. Only issue is we had contractor install it for us and left it installed for tile subcontractor to tile around. Looks amazing, issue though is tile got flush with the edges so we cannot access the screws on the sides to drop the glass down to clean the inside nor can we remove the unit without smashing the glass if it stopped working. Puts out plenty of heat, looks great and has worked all throughout the years. Had read reviews prior to purchasing, review said wait for this unit to go on sale, believe we purchased ours around $300 five or take $50, not sure if this goes on sale but would be patient if you have time.This review is for the Traditional version of this product. It seems that the reviews are lumped together with the LED version as well, so I wanted to make clear what my review is for. I purchased this after spending quite a bit of time searching for one of this dimension and price point. I'm a do-it-yourselfer which can sometimes get me in trouble. When I built our den many years ago, I had created a cubby hole in the wall with the bright idea of putting in the large projection screen tv we had at the time. It was awesome... until the TV eventually died and all the new LED/LCD flatscreen units were popular and cheap. Now I've got this big gaping hole in the wall where the TV once lived. What to do with it? We thought for a while and my wife came up with this idea. I knew I married her for a reason! Anyway, ordered this unit. It arrived very quickly and in excellent shape. No damage and well packed. Once I got it out of the box, I realized I had a winner. This thing is built to last. I built a 2x4 frame to fit the hole and mounted the unit. Now I'm in the process of building a nice front for it to make it look like it was meant to be there all along. The remote works great and I love the thermostat to control the heat setting. It works well in the 14x24 room and takes the chill right out of the air. We're looking forward to get the finishing done. I'll come back and post a picture or two when I'm done. PS: If you're not in a hurry, keep an eye on the price. It seems to vary quite a bit and you can catch it on sale here on Amazon from time to time to save quite a bit.I installed this unit in our basement fireplace which was previously occupied by a wood burning insert. The insert was removed before we moved in and we needed something to fill it. I'm fairly handy and contemplated installing a gas insert. But lining the old chimney for a gas fireplace was going to cost around $500 in materials alone. Plus with a vented gas fireplace most of the heat is lost up the chimney and we mainly wanted this for supplemental heat in our chilly basement.I came across this unit and went with the 240V unit because I knew a 120V would not warm up the basement like we wanted. For less then $700 for the fireplace, wire, and 20 amp breaker I had this installed and running. It was exactly what we need for our 500 sq ft basement and can easily get it above 70 degrees during the cold winter months. It doesnt look as real as some of the more expensive electric fireplaces, but for the money and heat output it cant be beat.I love everything about this fireplace. It looks so natural. The remote controls the flame height and the glow of the embers. I love the timer too. The heater works well on chilly mornings. I have no negatives. I just love it.Very happy with this. The box is very modern and streamlined. The fire effect is very natural and cozy. Just a note that we didnt realize. The control panel is a separate box that is wired to the fireplace so make sure you have a place to put it. We wired it to the side of our fireplace so it is out of sight.I replaced my gas fireplace with this one and very satisfied with it. Looks great and puts out plenty of heat. The last thing the instructions say is to plug it in and make sure everything works. Of couse mine didn't work so rechecked my wiring and still didn't work. I decided to install it to fill in the hole, then I noticed there is a push button on off on the front of the fireplace, top right hand corner..haha everything worked great.Remplace avantageusement mon poêle à bois placé dans le foyer.Ce foyer électrique devient une attraction du salon et fonctionne parfaitement.Pas de poussière ni de cendre devant le foyer.Aucun travail pour le faire fonctionner, la télécommande s'occupe de tout.Je le recommande à tous ceux qui veulent éviter la lourde tâche de s'occuper d'un foyer à bois.It came in on time. It was simple to install and it looks fantstic. Very realistic looking wood and flame. I might even like it more than our $5000 wood burning insert because of the convenience of it.Nunca me llego mi pedido y jamás me hicieron la devolución de mi dinero fue un robo