Valor PE2

Quick Facts

• Heating Capacity: 0–500 sq ft
• Viewing Area: 18" W x 17" H.
• Fuel: Electric.
• Heater: 1400 watts plugged in, or 2800 watts hardwired.
• Controls: Programmable remote included; the free C&J Smart Fire app adds WiFi control and heat scheduling.
• Fan: Included

Who It's For

There's a room where you'd love a fire—an old portrait fireplace that hasn't been lit in years, or a wall where no fireplace ever existed—and running gas or venting to it was never realistic. You need a fire that needs nothing but an outlet. If you want flames you can turn on from the couch, with no chimney, no gas line, and no venting, the Valor PE2 is the one. Leave the room as it is and it stays the room nobody uses; put the PE2 in and it earns its place back.

What Makes It Special

The PE2 builds its fire on a black reflective LCD panel, which gives the flames depth instead of a flat flicker, over birch logs or coals crafted for a realistic look that's exclusive to North America. You choose from 16 flame options—colors, styles, drifting sparks, even a smoke effect—plus nine ember-glow settings, overhead lighting in yellow or white, and the sound of a crackling fire. From across the room, it reads as a fire, not an appliance.

It heats, too. Plug it into a standard outlet for 1400 watts of warmth, or have it hardwired for 2800 watts—double the output, worth planning for in new construction or a major remodel. The remote or app lets you schedule the heater by time of day or week, so the room is warm before you walk into it.

Possible Downsides

• It's a one-room comfort heater, not a furnace—plan on it warming the room it's in, not the rooms beyond.
• The 2800-watt setting must be hardwired at 240 volts; on a standard outlet it runs at 1400 watts.
• Flames and heat both need electricity, so it goes dark in a power outage; a wood or gas unit is the choice if outage heat matters to you.

If you want a real-looking fire in a room where a chimney or gas line was never an option, the PE2 is the right decision. The room you used to walk past becomes the one everyone ends up in.

The PE2 takes a birch log or coal fire bed and a full range of fronts—Clearview, Ledgeview, Richmond cast, President insert, and Windsor Arch in black, chrome, or polished—plus optional backing plates, closure plates, and a mood-lighting LED kit, so it can match the room you already have.