Electric fireplaces work by using a source of light to create the look of flickering flames on the front of the unit.

We’ve explained in more detail how an electric fireplace works here, but essentially the majority of electric fireplaces use a light source and set of rotating mirrors to reflect light onto the front screen of the fireplace in a specific pattern that resembles the look of flickering flames.

For certain types of electric fireplace that may not produce any flames effects, such as electric fireplace log sets, there may still be a bulb inside that generates the pulsating glow of the ember bed to imitate a smoldering fire. In this case a bulb may still need to be replaced if the glowing light effects aren’t working.

In order for an electric fireplace to generate these fire effects there needs to be a source of light.

There are two main ways in which an electric fireplace produces light:

  • Halogen bulbs
  • LEDs

It’s becoming more and more common to see modern electric fireplaces using LEDs as the source of light because (in theory) they will never need to be changed throughout the duration of the life of the fireplace.

LEDs are rated to last many more hours of operation compared to halogen bulbs.

However, many older models of electric fireplace used today still have bulbs as their light source. These bulbs may only have a lifespan of a couple of years and so they may need to be changed a number of times throughout the lifespan of the fireplace.

You can typically tell when the bulb isn’t working in an electric fireplace because the flame effects aren’t being displayed.

You’ll therefore have to replace the bulb(s) inside your electric fireplace in order for the flame effects to work again.

We’ve explained in this article exactly how you can go about changing the bulb in your electric fireplace, but in order to fix the flame you’ll need the right type of replacement bulb(s).

You can find what type of bulb your electric fireplace takes by:

  • Checking the instruction manual.
  • If you don’t have the paper copy of the manual, give your specific model of electric fireplace a search online for an electronic version of the manual or any other information that will state what bulb it takes.
  • Take the blown bulb out of your fireplace and order an exact replacement.

See our dedicated article on common electric fireplace problems and their solutions for more information on why the fire effects in your electric fireplace may not be working.