The fireplace upgrade that fits Lansdowne's tightest rowhomes.

Plug-in freestanding units and mantel-style electric fireplaces run $300 to $1,000 and need nothing more than a standard 120V outlet—no contractor required. Built-in wall units, linear models set into a wall cavity, or inserts fitted into an existing masonry opening typically run $1,200 to $2,500 once you factor in a custom surround, trim kit, and—for larger units—a dedicated circuit run by a licensed electrician. Because Lansdowne's housing stock includes so many older fireplace openings that are purely decorative at this point, a lot of local projects are inserts sized to slot into that existing opening rather than new construction from scratch.

A plug-in unit that uses an existing outlet generally doesn't require a permit. If your installer needs to add a new dedicated circuit or do any wiring work for a built-in or wall-mounted unit, that electrical work falls under the Lansdowne Borough Code Enforcement office and the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, and it needs to be pulled by a licensed electrician. There's no venting, chimney, or gas-line inspection involved—the permit process for electric is far simpler than for a wood or gas installation, which is one of the main reasons it's a popular fit for the borough's older rowhomes.

Yes, and it's one of the most common projects in Lansdowne given how many homes here have an old masonry fireplace that's been capped or simply hasn't been used in years. An electric insert is sized to slide into that opening, uses the existing mantel and surround, and needs only an outlet inside or near the firebox—no chimney liner, no venting, no sweep required. It's typically the lowest-disruption way to bring a non-functional fireplace back to life.

Most electric fireplaces include a real heating element—typically a 1,500-watt fan-forced or infrared heater—capable of warming a single room of 400 to 1,000 square feet, which covers most living rooms and bedrooms in Lansdowne's twins and rowhomes. You can also run the flame effect with the heater switched off, which is useful in shoulder seasons or if you just want the look without added heat. It's built for zone heating a room you're using, not for replacing a home's central heat system on a design-degree winter night.

PECO's residential rate runs around 14.7 cents per kWh. A typical 1,500-watt heater setting draws 1.5 kWh, so running it costs roughly 22 cents an hour, or about $1.75 for an eight-hour evening. That's cheaper than most people expect, and it's the reason electric fireplaces work well as supplemental zone heat here—you can heat the room you're in without running the whole-house system harder, without the fuel cost or maintenance of wood or the installation cost of a gas line.

An electric insert is built to slide into an existing fireplace opening and use your current mantel and surround—the most common choice for Lansdowne's older homes with a decorative masonry fireplace already in place. A wall-mount or built-in linear unit is designed to be recessed into or mounted flush against a wall, popular in newer renovations or rooms without an existing fireplace. A freestanding electric stove looks like a small wood stove and simply plugs in anywhere near an outlet—a good option for a bedroom, den, or finished basement that has no fireplace opening at all. All three run off standard household power.

Lansdowne's lot sizes, attached and semi-attached rowhome construction, and borough zoning make wood-burning stoves and pellet appliances impractical for most properties here—there's often no clearance for proper venting, and shared walls complicate chimney work. It's not that wood or pellet heat doesn't work in this climate; it's that the housing stock doesn't easily accommodate it the way electric or gas does. That's a big part of why electric fireplaces have become the practical retrofit choice for reviving an old fireplace opening or adding heat to a room that doesn't have one.

Gas delivers more real heat output and can serve as a genuine secondary heat source, but it requires a gas line, venting work, and a larger install budget—often complicated in older rowhomes where running new gas piping means opening up finished walls or floors. Electric requires none of that: no venting, no gas permit, and in many cases no more than an outlet. For a Lansdowne twin with an existing decorative fireplace opening and a tight renovation budget, electric is usually the faster and less invasive path. For a homeowner doing a larger renovation who wants a fireplace as a genuine supplemental heat source, gas is worth the extra permitting and cost. Both are common in the borough.

A plug-in unit can be placed and running the same day—no contractor visit needed. An insert going into an existing masonry opening typically takes a local installer a few hours to fit the unit, secure the surround, and confirm the electrical connection. A built-in wall unit requiring new wiring usually takes a full day once an electrician is scheduled to run the circuit, since Lansdowne's older wiring sometimes needs a panel check before adding a new dedicated line. Compared to a wood or gas install, it's a fast project from start to finish.

Yes—with an asterisk. Fireplaces are hot and TVs don't like heat. Either put a mantel between them to deflect rising warmth, or choose a fireplace with heat-management technology that creates a cool zone on the wall above—the wall stays around 125 degrees, barely warm, while the room still gets full heat. If you like clean lines and don't want a mantel, heat management is the answer.

No—that's its superpower. An electric fireplace needs a wall and an outlet, period. No vent pipe, no gas line, no clearances to design around, which is why it works in bedrooms, offices, apartments, and walls where venting a gas or wood unit would be impractical or impossible. Installation is typically the simplest and least expensive of any fireplace type.

For an average home—covering the fireplace, the vent pipe, and basic installation—a budget between $3,900 and $5,500 gives you a lot of options across wood, gas, and pellet. By the time you add finish work, gas line, and electrical, the average complete installation lands between $5,000 and $12,000 all-in. In a remodel or new build, a good rule is to put about 2.5% of the total project cost toward the fireplace.

It's a visit where a hearth professional measures your space, confirms the model you picked actually works in your home, and walks the specs—framing, gas line, venting, finish work—before anything is ordered. Some details you just can't know until you see the house. Never make a down payment without one; it's the single most-skipped step that burns buyers.