The first and most common style of indoor fireplace heater is the wall-mounted fireplace heater. These fireplace heaters are built into the wall, typically in a living room or bedroom. They usually sit flush with the wall but sometimes have an upper or lower mantle for display. Wall-mounted convector heaters are connected to a chimney which funnels the smoke out of the fireplace, above the house. This variety of fireplace heater can run on real wood, gas, or even electricity in some newer models.

Another common type of fireplace heater is the free-standing variety. An advantage to the free-standing fireplace heater is that it requires minimal modification to your home compared to a wall-mounted fireplace.

Portable fireplace heaters are similar to free-standing electric fireplace heaters but are typically smaller and not attached to a chimney. Most portable indoor fireplace heaters are electric but there are outdoor models that can run off of wood or gas. If you are simply looking to warm up a room during the winter and don’t want to commit to installing a permanent fixture, a portable fireplace heater is a great option. Portable fireplace heaters are perfect for apartments too as they do not require any modification to the home.

Wood-burning fireplace heaters are the oldest of any type of fireplace heater. Some homeowners prefer wood-burning fireplace heaters because of the smell and sounds that they put out. A disadvantage of wood-burning fireplace heaters is that they need to be cleaned fairly often and can release a lot of smoke indoors if there is an issue with the chimney.

Today, gas burning fireplace heaters are some of the most common types found in homes. Gas fireplace heaters are simple to operate and require minimal maintenance for upkeep. Vented gas infrared heaters require a chimney to release the fumes from the chamber. Vent-free gas fireplace heaters do not require a chimney and burn at a much higher temperature.

Electric fireplace heaters are the safest of the different materials to burn. They do not have an actual flame and create heat with heating coils instead. Most electric fireplace heaters produce virtual flames that look just like a real fire. Since there isn’t anything actually burning, electric fireplace heaters do not require any venting.