The hearth is ancient technology. Fireplaces and woodstoves have been in homes since the Stone Age. However, they’ve advanced far from those hollowed-out stones to become grand centers of our living spaces. Plus, despite their long history, technology and designs continue to advance in the age-old fireplace. We’ll highlight some of our favourite futuristic and smart innovations for the fireplace.
Napoleon eFire for Ultimate Control
Every day it seems we can use our phones to control more devices in our homes. Why should fireplaces be any different? Napoleon has developed their eFire app to give you full control of your fireplace. Over bluetooth, the eFire app provides the controls you would expect for a fireplace such as temperature and flame height. However, the app innovates these options to be smarter by allowing you to program timers, schedules, and the full RGB lighting. This last one sets the interior LEDs to any colour you could possibly desire. Yellow, red, orange, green, blue, purple, along with various patterns that imitate a real ember bed are all possible. This feature is available in several of Napoleon’s gas fireplaces including the Altitude, Ascent, Luxuria, and Vector series.
Control Anywhere with Valor 10 Remote
Napoleon is not the only one embracing the futuristic technologies of our phones and a smart fireplace. Valor has also developed the Valor 10 Remote app to allow full remote control of their fireplaces over WIFI. This means you can control and schedule the fireplace from anywhere as long as your fireplace and device have a Wi-Fi connection. Along with standard fire controls, Valor 10 also includes user profiles and boasts numerous ECO and energy-saving features to ensure your fireplace operates at maximum efficiency. This combines with Valor’s Heatshift system and Radiant Heating technologies for an efficient fire. The Valor 10 remote is a futuristic feature on the Valor LT1, L1, L2, L3, LX1, LX2, H5, and H6 fireplaces.
Smoke without Fire – Dimplex Optimyst
Electric fireplaces are designed to provide heat while simulating the experience of a real fire. This technology of the electric fireplace is rapidly advancing to simulate nearly real fires. Flames have looked convincing in electric fires for some time now, but they lack another defining feature of real fires: smoke. Dimplex’s Optimyst series brings this technology to the next generation. The Optimyst system uses ultrasonic devices to create a fine mist that looks exactly like light smoke. This innovation adds to the fire’s simulation, only making it more convincing.
Seeing Fire from any Angle with Ortal’s Design
The traditional fireplace is built into the wall with a single window showing us a front view of the flames. However, a beautiful fire can be appreciated from all angles, and Ortal has innovated beyond the single view in their various models. This smart innovation allows a fireplace to be placed in any interior space for a truly custom design and experience. Ortal’s corner fireplaces provide two windows on the corner while the tunnel models place a window on each side making it viewable on either side of a wall. The three-sided models provide the traditional fireplace with more depth by providing a full view on the sides of the main window. Lastly, their island fireplaces place the fireplace at the center of the room to provide a full view of the entire fire as it gracefully burns.
Jotul’s Timeless Cast Iron
Next-gen technologies don’t mean having to leave the best of the past generation behind. Cast iron remains a durable and high-quality material that is perfect for radiating heat in a living space. That durability and function is why Jotul has used it in all of their woodstoves for over a century. They continue to update the designs and technologies in their stoves while maintaining the quality and endurance of timeless cast iron.
Kindling Innovation and Technology
These are only just a few of our favourites and are the latest in smart heating technologies and designs currently available in fireplaces and woodstoves. The flames of innovation and technology are always burning, so there are plenty of new and exciting features coming to our showrooms. To discover more of the latest futuristic fireplace innovations, visit one of our locations in Ajax, Scarborough, Toronto, or Whitby.