Nothing beats huddling around a warm fire in winter. This is truly one of life's pleasures and something that no one should miss out on. The difficulty is that open fireplaces or even wood burning stoves are not available to a large number of people. Those living in flats for example, or those living in terraced houses in cities will be unable to have naked flames in this way in their homes. There is a solution however in the form of an electric stove. These are ideal for people who are not able to have a real fire. Gone are the days of unattractive electric fires too. These days they are often so realistic that it is difficult to tell them apart from the real thing. There are many benefits of installing an electric fire in the home which this article will demonstrate.

There are many homes that do not have a chimney installed. Houses that have been turned into flats or apartment buildings are a good example of this. When there is no chimney available then a real fire of any kind is out of the question. That means no woodburners, no gas fires and certainly no fires in an open grate. An electric stove however needs no ventilation system at all, and that means that they are suitable for any type of house. They are not heavy like a wood burner either so even those in top floor flats can enjoy all the benefits of an electric fired stove. Electric stoves are the ideal solution for anyone who doesn't have a chimney and has no chance of installing one.

Even people who do have a chimney quite often opt for an electric variety. The idea of a real fire or wood burning stove is wonderful, however in practice they do take quite a lot of work. Stoking and refilling with fuel is necessary and if you turn your attention away for a while the fire can go out leaving you back at square one. Older people or those with very limited time often choose an electric fire over a real fire alternative as a time saving measure. They also do not need cleaning out or riddling either. Furthermore if you don't have access to wood for burning then a real fire can be very problematic. Organising deliveries can be expensive and time consuming, and do you really have the storage space to house a winter's worth of wood and kindling? These are the disadvantages for someone with a real wood fire.

Electric stoves and fires come in a range of styles and designs. There are many that look so similar to a wood burning stove that it is almost impossible to see that it is not. There are some models that even come with a fake flue. Guests in your home will be unable to tell the difference at first and will naturally gravitate toward the heat source as they would do with a real fire. They are much easier to run than non-electric varieties of stove. Their temperature is fully adjustable so you have control over how much heat is given off and this makes them very fuel efficient. There is little control when it comes to real fires or woodburning stoves, where often the heat is not disbursed efficiently or constantly around the room.

There is no doubt that an electric stove offers a viable alternative to a real fire or a traditional wood stove. They are quick and easy to install, look just as good as any "real" fire and are easy to light and control. A wood burning stove or fire take a lot of work, both in obtaining the wood for fuel and keeping the fire going so anyone wishing to avoid this should seek out an electric variety.