While it’s not recommended to install a TV over an open wood burning fireplace, many choose to install a TV and electric fireplace on the same wall to create a focal point for a room, through features such as an entertainment center.

So why can an electric fireplace be put on the same wall (with the TV typically above) while you can’t install a TV over a real open fireplace?

Electric fireplaces work differently to other types of fireplaces (such as wood burning and gas) because there’s no real fire inside. This gives more flexibility when it comes to installing an electric fireplace in a home, including being able to install a TV close by.

We’ve explained how an electric fireplace works in more detail here but the flames are typically created by reflecting light off rotating mirrors onto a screen, while the heat is generated by a heater component inside the fireplace.

These heaters are more commonly fan forced that use a blower and heating element to force warm air out into the room (much like a space heater), but ceramic or infrared heaters can also be used. These forms of heaters direct the heat in a certain direction and don’t radiate heat out in every direction like a real fireplace fire.

Our electric fireplace stove uses a conventional fan forced heater to generate the heat. It’s located underneath the unit and blows hot air out of the front of the fireplace. Heat doesn’t come out of any other part and the electric fireplace isn’t hot to the touch apart from where the hot air comes out.

As an electric fireplace typically only generates hot air in a certain direction, we have no issues with having our TV located above our electric fireplace on the same wall.

We have an open fireplace in our kitchen and we like to place our electric fireplace stove inside this real fireplace to add a focal point to the room and to warm the room whenever we need.

We’ve also installed a TV above this open fireplace.

We don’t use the fireplace for real fires as we use the open fireplace in our living room for wood burning fires, and so we felt comfortable installing the TV above the fireplace.

When it comes to deciding whether you can install an electric fireplace and TV on the same wall, with typically having the TV located above the electric fireplace, you’ll first need to consider what type of electric fireplace will be best suited.

We go into more detail about the different types of electric fireplace here, but the types of electric fireplace best suited for installation on the surface or recessed into a wall include:

  • Wall mount electric fireplaces
  • Electric fireplace inserts

Wall mount electric fireplaces are designed to be installed directly on the surface of a wall, much like how you would hang a TV on a wall with a bracket.