Touchstone Sideline 40-Inch Recessed Smart Electric Fireplace (#80027)

A Smart 40-Inch Electric Fireplace, Recessed or Wall Mounted

The Touchstone Sideline 40 is a 40-inch smart electric fireplace that recesses into a framed wall or hangs on it. The flame runs with or without heat, so it has a job in July as well as in January, and it can be set anywhere from a warm traditional fire to a cool modern one. At 40 inches it is small enough for a bedroom or a smaller living room, and recessed it sits flush with the drywall rather than taking the wall over.

Three Flame Colors Over Ten Ember Colors

The flame runs orange, blue, or orange and blue together, at five levels of brightness. Underneath it, the ember bed has ten color settings of its own and an auto-cycle that drifts between them. The fireplace remembers the last flame color you used. Crystal embers and a log set both come in the box, so you can choose which one sits under the flame rather than buying it separately.

Control It From the App, Alexa, Google Home or a Remote

The Touchstone Fireplace app puts the flame, the ember color, the heat and the timer on your phone, so you are not hunting for a remote down the side of the couch. It also answers to Alexa and Google Home if you would rather just say it out loud. Nothing about that is compulsory: a handheld remote comes in the box, and a control panel on the fireplace itself does everything the app does, so it works exactly like an ordinary fireplace for anyone who wants it to.

Two Heat Settings, and the Flame Runs Without Either

The heater has a low and a high setting and a timer that runs from 30 minutes to 8 hours. The flame effect is independent of it: run the fire cold through the summer and switch the heater on when the evenings turn. Heat comes out of the front of the unit rather than the top, which is what lets a television sit close above it.

Frame the Opening at 32 3/4 inches wide

Touchstone specifies a rough opening 32 3/4 inches wide, 20 1/2 high and 5 3/4 deep. The fireplace itself is 40 inches wide, 21 1/2 inches tall and 5 1/2 deep, so it clears a 2x6 wall with room to spare. Touchstone allows a television 8 inches above the top of the fireplace, which is closer than most electric fireplaces permit and is the figure to design the wall around.

Best for a Bedroom or a Smaller TV Wall

The 40-inch suits a bedroom, a smaller living room, or a wall where the television is modest. It is also about the last Sideline width that still reads with something close to traditional fireplace proportions rather than as a long horizontal band of flame, which matters if a strongly linear look is not what you are after. If a TV is going above it, size the fireplace at least as wide as the screen. A fireplace narrower than the television above it looks undersized however neatly it is installed, which is why a big media wall wants one of the wider sizes.

Plan the Outlet, and Have a Second Pair of Hands

It plugs into an ordinary outlet, and an electrician can hardwire it instead if you would rather not see a cord. The fireplace weighs 43 lbs and arrives at 57 lbs boxed. Run it on its own 120-volt 15-amp circuit and keep other appliances off that circuit, which is what the manual asks for. Never use an extension cord or a power strip with an electric fireplace.