An electric fireplace is a faux fireplace that will give the appearance of a traditional fireplace; wood or coal or even a gas fire pit with crystals along the bottom. The beauty of the electric fireplace, however, is that it is actually very different, despite appearances. Not only will you not need to pay for a fuel source to burn, you won’t need to work at all to start or maintain the flame. Because the flame isn’t real. Which means you won’t need to worry about any of the risks of fire, either. An electric fireplace will operate as a space heater, passing electricity through conductive wires and ventilate the radiant heat out of it and into the room. You can also operate most electric fireplaces without the heating element; so you can just often just enjoy the fire, even on hot summer nights, without roasting.