By Nanci Dixon
When we bought our motorhome, it came with an electric fireplace. I thought, “What a ridiculous thing to put in an RV!” It was so fake-looking, and why would we use it when we could sit around a real campfire, with real wood, outside?
That was before I discovered its heating potential! Once I learned to work the remote, we were in toasty-RV business. This electric fireplace sure is nice on cold nights!
However, I quickly learned that the only one getting warm was my husband in his recliner. All the heat was centralized around him and the ceiling… but definitely not the rest of the motorhome.
I added a simple, very small USB fan on the mantle above the fireplace, and now the heat from the fireplace is distributed throughout the RV evenly. The inexpensive fan works great! (Editor: The fan Nanci uses is no longer available, but here are similar USB fans on Amazon.)
If you have an electric fireplace in your RV and find that it only heats certain areas (like right in front of it or just to one side), try adding one of these fans. It’ll make a difference, and your cold feet will thank you!
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RVDT2837
We only use our fireplace if electricity is included in our camp fees. Otherwise, we use a radiant heater which cost about 1/2 the $ to run. Once you run an electric motor to move air around your costs go up big time. And, when the grandchildren might sleep over, the “flame” on low gives off a nice night light for them. If you want to know how much power you’re using get a Kill A Watt from Amazon. It’s not easy determining how much power your fireplace is using since the plug in is usually in behind the fireplace which is fixed in place.
If your fireplace and radiant heater are both rated at 1500 watts, 5100 btu’s, they use the same amount of electricity. The addition of the fan in the fireplace is negligible. Maybe adding 30-50 watts.
Plus, a radiant heater is designed to heat objects.
“Radiant heaters work by emitting infrared radiation that directly warms objects and people in their path, rather than heating the surrounding air.”