Absolutely! They are designed to be both beautiful and functional. The firebox and lower flue are made from steel which is an excellent heat conductor. This produces both direct heat from the fire itself and radiant heat from the steel (and of course the perceived heat from the dancing flame and crackling logs).   Our fireplaces have are approved for CE certification and have been rated as having the following heating capacities: The Aether: 8.2kW The Hearth: 7.2kW   Both of these ratings are very powerful for open fireplaces and they are certainly powerful sources of heat. The exact heating capacity depends on many variables: the ambient temperature outside, the height of the ceilings in the room the fire is located, if the room has insulation in the ceiling and walls, how many and the size of the windows in the room and perhaps the biggest factor of all is the quality and amount of fuel you are using. As an example; we have an Aether in our living room which is 120m2. It is an open plan room with high raked ceilings and sliding doors across the length of the main wall. It is a new home with good insulation. The Aether does a cracking job of heating this space for us! Heating Area Volume & Climate Zone The required kW output required is primarily dependent upon the area to be heater and the climate zone in which you live. The following rough guide assumes your ceilings are no higher than 2.4M: Very Cold Zone: 1kW output required for each 8.5m² Cold Zone: 1 kW output required for each 10m² Cool Zone: 1kW output required for each 13 m² Mild Zone: 1kW output required for each 16m²   Adjustment Factors The indicated heating areas would be adjusted down by 5% for each of the following conditions: house built on pillars (non-slab), no carpets on floors, no drapes on windows or a ceiling height exceeding 2.4m. Deduct an additional 10% if the area does not have ceiling insulation. Please note that this is only a guide and individual home designs and situations may vary.