Touchstone Smart Electric Fireplace-The Sideline 28" Wide-in Wall Recessed - 30 Realistic Ember Color/Flame Options - 1,300W Heater w/Thermostat - Log & Crystal Hearth Options - Alexa/WiFi Enabled

I have purchased two of these. The first one has been in the living room for 3+ years. It works perfectly, looks very good, and I have no complaints. The heat function is "adequate" but will not blow your socks off- so we don't use it very much. Very easy to install- just follow the clear instructions. I installed the second one 4 months ago in the master bedroom. Same results.

Research: I went to a local store that had a number of different fireplaces on display. I ended up ordering the touchstone as it seemed to best balance cost + asthetics. This indeed turned out to the case. The Sideline flames look better than any of the other brands I checked out. I was also very pleased that they had a 100" available and the price is very good relative to the competition, coming in at several hundred less. Buying via Prime gave me extra piece of mind and I took out the extra warranty.Delivery: the unit was snugly strapped to a linear pallet, which preserved it from any damage and made moving it around much easier. It was sent via UPS freight and they did a good job.Installation: this is a cumbersome unit that will bode well with two people. Or if you're like me and impatient/impetuous, I managed on my own, but I was VERY careful. One wrong move and that glass facade goes bye-bye, or you drop and ding/damage the metal housing. Installation was actually a piece of cake once I carved out the opening in the drywall.My one issue: so, as they suggested you do, and I'm glad I did BEFORE installation, I plugged the unit in to test it. At first I thought it was simulated embers crackling, but then I realized my unit is making a horrible grinding noise. I was able to peer inside and see that the "flame rod" was not attached on one end of the unit and was just kind of spinning out of its socket and scraping the metal housing. I thought it was bent, but after TouchStone customer service replied (very quickly), they gave me a supplemental guide on how to open the unit and fix the flame rod. A bit of a pain in the butt removing like 50 screws from the back of the unit, enough that was the issue. Fortunately, it was not bent, it just needed to be mounted back within the bracket/bushing. what I did note is there was no way this could have happened during shipping, nor could that have just popped out of that bracket. It was readily apparent that this was a quality control issue at the factory. So I let them know, and hey, I guess crap happens. Fortunately, it was an easy fix so I didn't have to sending unit back or have a repair person come out. I do admit it also gave me an opportunity to really study the guts of the unit and understand how it works... I think this knowledge will bode well for maintaining the unit over the years. I noted other people's reviews mention grinding noises and they may not have realized they had the same issue going on with a dislodged flame rod. When it's installed and working properly, it is virtually silent (without heat on).Final installation: so once I got through the adventure above and got it installed... It looks absolutely fantastic. What I love... I think the flames are extremely realistic looking. They give you the option of putting down little bit of fake crystals, or I'm using the fake wood which actually looks really cool. I also like that there are multiple dimming options, and one of the most important reasons I chose this unit, I love the blue-only flames. So if I just wanted in regular "fireplace" mode, I just put on the orange flames. But when watching a movie it's really cool to put it on the dim blue flames only; not too obtrusive, and a really cool look. I live in Florida, so honestly, other than maybe a few weeks out of the year at best, I won't really be using the heat. Thus sorry I can't comment on that aspect yet.I'll upload pics when the project is completed and the stone ledger is installed around it.

This is my second purchase of this unit, since I liked rhe looks of the first one I installed. Looks very realistic. Get asked all the time if it is a gas fireplace. Easy to install and nice looking for the price.

The media could not be loaded. After searching for months and returning one from a local store, I found my winner! This fireplace is not only beautiful but versatile. 1) the glass face is easy to remove but locked and very secure. Easy to remove to switch out from wood and crystal 2) WiFi was super easy to set up (fyi you need to hold the ON button down to activate the WiFi sync 3) Wood will be used in winter for a cosy feel and crystal in summer for more elegant vibes, love this! Like other have said and shown, more realistic I have seen in the market! 4) does not have the ugly orange coils when using the heater (this is a game changer) 5) the heat seemed like it was pushing out well and it seems to shoot out straight forward. It provides a great amount of heat but let’s be honest, it’s not a real fireplace. Also, the display show up when you are selecting your preferences but fades out. 6) the directions overall are very detailed, it’s like a book. 7) you can change the fire color, height of the fire, the wood color and tone of the wood color, light or dark. 8) the remote give a lot of feature including set time. 9) the APP is great and you can set up with Alexa/google. You can schedule to turn on at a specific day and time including repeat. Alexa can turn it on or off but to my understanding not the heat function. I assume for safety reasons. Overall, this is an amazing fireplace and no wonder it gets 5 stars on their website and on here. Highly recommend and it’s a great price for all the features. If you go on their website, they have a variety of styles to choose from. (Since others showed the flames here is a glimps of what the APP looks like.