When my husband and I built our home 40 years ago we enjoyed a real fire in our fireplace, but now that my husband is gone and I'm alone, at 81 years old it's just too much for me to haul in wood and haul out ashes. This is the reason I am going to an electric fireplace. I love it, it is so realistic looking and feeling. When I want heat it's instantly there with the crackle of a real wood fire. If I don't want the heat and just the look of a fire it's also available. I couldn't ask for a better solution.