Many tiny house owners dream of lighting their fireplace and settling down for a cozy night in their small space.
But are tiny house fireplaces the best way to keep warm in the winter months?
We’re here to take a look at two different types of tiny house fireplace, their pros & cons and the best options for each.
You can also check out some amazing fireplace ideas from real life tiny houses. Let’s go!
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Can you have a fireplace in a tiny house?
Yes, you certainly can have a fireplace in a tiny house. Wood, pellet or electric fireplaces are used to heat tiny houses in cold climates.
The most common type of fireplace in tiny houses are freestanding ones because they take up less space and are easier to install.
Fireplaces, espcially wood and pellet ones, can throw out a lot of heat. This is why most of them are small in size – so it’s easier to regulate the temperature in your tiny house.
Tiny house electric fireplaces
Pros and cons
Electric fireplaces are an option you can consider for your tiny house heating while you are connected to the grid.
These are very different to other tiny house fireplaces options, as they use electrical energy to generate heat and do not produce smoke that needs to be expelled from your tiny house.
Electric heaters in tiny homes that have a fireplace design have some interesting benefits compared to wood or pellet fireplaces:
- Can look realistic with flame effects
- Not hot to touch
- Able to be moved to different places in your tiny house living space
- Cheaper than installing a wood fireplace
- Easy to use
However, there are also disadvantages to having an electric fireplace in your tiny house, such as:
- No real fire is present – no ambience, smells or sounds that people enjoy from a wood burning stove in a tiny house
- Not as aesthetically pleasing as wood fireplaces
- Only available if your tiny house is connected to an electrical grid – otherwise it will use too much energy
Best options
There are man different products available if you want to have an electric fireplace in your tiny house.
For example, the Turbo electric fireplace is a good option as it is smaller than other models.
It comes with a timer and sensor to help regulate the temperature in your tiny house.
Over 4,500 BTUs are produced by this little electric fireplace.
Another version by Turbo is their smaller 18″ variant:
This has the same BTU output, but is smaller and lighter than other models.
Another option is the electric fireplace from Duraflame.
This is a larger model that puts out 5,200 BTUs.
It has a thermostat control so you can set the temperature you want your small space to be.
There are also settings for the flame effects, so you can set the ambience you want by changing the flame color, brightness and flickering speed.
Tiny house fireplace stoves
Pros and cons
There are many reasons why tiny house owners prefer traditional wood or pellet fireplaces as opposed to other heating options.
Having a stove fireplace means that you don’t need to rely on electricity at all. As long as you can source suitable wood or pellets, you will be able to heat your tiny house.
Many people also love the aesthetic that a wood fireplace brings. It will make your tiny home feel super cozy!
Most tiny homes use free-standing wood fireplaces.
The main benefits to these are:
- They only need to be small fireplaces to provide a large heat output
- Burning wood is an efficient and produced low emmissions
- Long-lasting fires
- Real flames provide a cozy aesthetic
However, there are some reasons why wood or pellet stove fireplaces may not be for you. These include:
- Expensive to purchase and install comapred to electric fireplaces
- They are hot to touch, you have to remember to be careful when around them
- In-built fireplaces with a chimney breast are not suitable for tiny homes
- They require maintenance, i.e. cleaning
- Fuel source has to be collected on a regular basis
Tiny house fireplace ideas
Here are some examples of fireplaces in real life tiny homes by Build Tiny.
First is the wooden fireplace in the Piwakawaka.
Next is the fireplace in the Kahurangi Koinga tiny home.
Accessories that you’ll need in your tiny house include items like a fire wood racks, log baskets and fireplace tools.