I wanted this fireplace more for decoration, then for heat. Just to give a nice cozy ambiance to our home. Which It does wonderfully! However I will say that when I turned the heat portion on, it really does push out some hot air. Now I know whey they give the space precautions for above. The one they listed for the side I believe is more for the back lighting which is great. This fireplace has a ton of color options, and the flames look about as real as you can get!