We put this in our real fireplace because I was tired of the work involved with a real fireplace. I've had a lot of people say they to might do the same. An added bonus was the heat you can get from it because we keep our themostat down and when we get up in the morning we don't have to turn it up. It does a fine job of knocking the chill off in the room while we read the paper and drink our coffee. It would be even nicer if they could find a way for you to get the smell and crackle of a real fireplace but until then you can find ways to do that. It would be a lot less of a hassle if it all came in one unit. Thats the only down fall.