My first tests were undertaken to see whether an electric fireplace could heat a room.

I performed tests based on four different scenarios to see what the outcomes would be. The four scenarios included using my electric fireplace in my living room:

• On high heat setting with the door closed.
• On low heat setting with the door closed.
• On high heat setting with the door open.
• On low heat setting with the door open.

Testing the fireplace for these four different scenarios could give me an insight into how much difference is made when leaving the door to the room open, or using the low heat setting instead of the high heat setting.

To measure the temperature in the room, I used the thermostat for my central heating system. It’s normally located in the hallway, but is detachable and so I placed it in my room where I would normally sit. The fireplace was located on the other side of the room; otherwise the results would have been over exaggerated by having the thermostat close to the fireplace heater where it’s the hottest.