If electric fireplace inserts would have been available in the 1960s, would mid-century modern home builders have installed them as standard equipment? I don’t know the answer to the question, but we decided in 2024 to install an electric fireplace in our old mid-century modern home. The LED faux fire with a glorified hair dryer to provide a modest amount of heat seemed right for our little home.
Mid-Century Modern LED Fireplace Insert
Our 1968 state-of-the-art ugly fireplace should have been replaced 20 years ago when we first bought the house. We kept rationalizing that we would tear off the Mexican Driftwood rock surrounding the fireplace and replace it with the original design of brick and cantilevered hearth. The expense of the tear down and reconstruction no longer appeals to us.
For reasons only known to the original owners, they opted against the fireplace as designed and were sold on the mini-rock climbing wall with a heatilator system. Two fans under the hearth pulled in cool air, pushed it through tubes around the firebox, and pushed the warm air through openings in the rock face. It works very well for heating.
Old Gas Log Insert was a Black Hole in the Mid-Century Modern Home
However, with the house being only 1800 square feet, it does not need another heat source. It probably helps that we installed dual paned windows and better insulation. Even though the fan and tube system is a poor heat exchanger, it can still push people to perspiring sitting next to the fireplace.
Another downside is that natural gas is more expensive today than in 1968 and produces climate warming exhaust. Consequently, we have – literally – a black hole in the family/dining room that is drafty in the winter and certainly sucks out cool air in the summer. Time for a fireplace insert.
Our main objective when searching for an electric fireplace insert was a product that produced something resembling light from a fire. A little heat, mainly to dry wet socks, would be a bonus. We resigned ourselves to the fact that no electric fireplace insert with LED lights would be design-compatible with the large chunks of brown rock surrounding it.
I have never liked the fireplace. It never seemed complete. It was not in balance, something was missing. Then it hit me, there was no mantle over the fireplace. Why was there no mantle? Because the forced air for the fans would blow off any cards or pictures placed on the mantle. With the electric fireplace, where the fans are forever unplugged, we could install a mantle….bonus!
After a modest search for electric fireplace inserts and viewing several in operation, we selected the Valor GE3. While it was a little smaller in dimensions than some of the competitors, I liked the mirrored insert. The mirror adds depth and reflects more light. The fake wood (we chose birch logs) look good and the LED lights produced a nice soft light. The fan on the little heat blower is not obnoxious and is relatively quiet.
Installation Challenges, Good Results
We had the company we purchased the insert from also install it. Even though there were 110 volt wires running under the hearth for the fan motors, it was still a challenge for the installer to make the connection. He had to cut through the firebox, at least 10 gauge steel, and fish a line to the old fan blower connection. Nothing is easy in an old house, especially when the original construction had last minute changes.
I am very pleased with the electric LED fireplace insert and installation. Even when not in operation, the whitish birch logs reflect the ambient light for a nice distraction. There no longer a black hole in the corner of the room. To view the installation and other reasons why we wanted to replace the old gas log, watch the video below.
