Valor LEX4 72-inch Electric Fireplace Engine

Quick Facts

• Heating Capacity: 0–500 sq ft
• Viewing Area: 71" wide, 15¾" tall
• Fuel: Electric.
• Controls: Thermostatic remote with 7-day heat timer included; smartphone app optional.
• Fan: Included

Who It's For

There's a wall in the house that wants a fire—the long one in the great room, or the half-wall between the kitchen and the living room—and gas was never an option there. A small fire on a big wall looks like an afterthought. You need a fire scaled to the wall that runs on electricity. If you're building a feature wall, dividing one big space into two rooms, or replacing a blank stretch of drywall with something worth looking at, the Valor LEX4-S is the one.

What Makes It Special

One box, four layouts. Out of the box, the LEX4-S configures as front-facing, left corner, right corner, or three-sided—so the same fireplace can sit flush in a wall, wrap a corner, or stand open between two rooms and ease the transition from one to the other.

Then there's the firebed. The Real Wood Artisan log set is actual North American wood—each log hand hewn and individually charred, so no two sets are alike—delivered pre-assembled and ready to drop in. Behind the non-reflective glass, you see the fire, not your lamp.

The remote or the app sets the whole mood: three flame colors, 13 firebed colors, five brightness levels, and two crackling-wood sounds. Run the flames with no heat at all on a summer evening, or let the thermostat hold the room on a January night.

Possible Downsides

• It warms the room it's in, not the whole floor—figure a comfort zone up to about 500 square feet, with the furnace holding the rest of the house.
• Full 2800-watt heat output requires hardwiring by an electrician; on a standard plug it runs at 1400 watts.
• LED mood lighting strips are optional, not included.

If you want a six-foot fire on a wall where gas was never an option, the LEX4-S is the right decision. The room it's in becomes the room the house lives in.

Choose your firebed—Valor Birch, Driftwood, or Splitwood logs, or the Real Wood Artisan set—pick a front-facing, left corner, right corner, or three-sided layout, and add LED mood lighting strips if you want the glow to carry past the glass.