IT’S DEEP IN THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN RACE TO DRAW STRENGTH from gathering around a fire. But humans have long differed about creating one. Imagine industrious Caveperson One spending an hour rubbing sticks together and grateful for the result, while his companion remarked, “Can’t we just say, ‘Let there be fire’?”
Now that impatient Caveperson Two has been vindicated.
Fireplaces beckon us with their warmth and flickering light to shed the day’s stress and settle down comfortably for a few moments, perhaps surrounded by loved ones. These days that includes electric fireplaces. They conjure flame-like effects in heat and light and even sound with no need for wood fuel or smoke. And now they’ve entered the age of the smartphone; you can opt for an electric fireplace with integrated “smart” technology and have complete control of the “flames” at your fingertips.
“Integrating with smart home-hubs enables automated adjustments of flame height based on room temperature or schedules,” says Anna Maria Mannarino of Holmdel-based Mannarino Designs.
Companies such as Modern Ember have begun to weave smart-home compatibility into their electric-fireplace offerings. You can control heat, flame effects, the quality of lighting and more, all from your phone. Or, if unlocking a screen seems too much bother, just speak your wishes out loud and let your Alexa or Google Assistant make adjustments for you.
You don’t even have to be in the room. Use the app to turn on and adjust your fireplace so that everything is perfectly cozy when you arrive home from your dinner date, or set a schedule so that the fire is cheerful and welcoming when you get home from a long day at the office. Some models even let you toggle through multiple flame-color options, from warm yellows and oranges to dancing blues.
If that sounds intimidating, it shouldn’t. Setup is as easy as download-ing an app, enabling Bluetooth and plugging in your new fireplace.
Another brand, Touchstone, also has its own app with which you can control the flame size, the strength of the “embers” (specially made glass crystals), the level of heat and the color of both the flame and those em-bers, which can be toggled to otherworldly magentas and blues. You can even turn on the light of the flames and nix the heat altogether if you’re already happy with the room’s temperature.
Already own a “regular” electric fireplace? Turn it into a smart one by using a smart plug or relay, says Mannarino.
Perhaps an ideal cozy fire would not only help you forget the day’s woes but actually reverse them—turn that rebuke from your boss into high praise, make it so that kindergarten scrap the teacher called you about was actually the other kid’s fault instead of your Johnny’s. Alas, that fireplace hasn’t been invented yet.