Napoleon Trivista 3-Sided Electric Fireplace

Napoleon Trivista Three-Sided Electric Fireplaces

Napoleon Trivista is a three-sided electric fireplace: open on the front and both ends, so the fire is visible from three directions rather than one. The models carry the same flame and differ in how they mount.

Three-sided is not see-through

Worth settling before you plan the wall, because the installations are different. A three-sided unit is open on the front plus both ends and sits at the end of a wall or a peninsula, seen from a single room. A see-through fireplace is open on two opposite faces and lives inside a wall, serving the rooms on either side. If the job is to finish two rooms, a three-sided unit will not do it.

Primis or Pictura

Primis is 9.5 inches deep and recesses into a framed opening, reaching 10,000 BTU. Its included end panels reconfigure it as three-sided, two-sided or single-sided, so the fireplace does not lock the room plan before the room plan is settled. Best for a finished feature wall where you want the heat to count.

Pictura is 6.5 inches deep and mounts on the wall surface, with no opening to frame. Best for a shallow wall or a room you are not ready to open up.

Both are hardwired and need a qualified electrician, so that is not the deciding factor. Depth, heat and configurability are.

Heat and everyday use

Up to 10,000 BTU on the Primis and 5,000 on the Pictura. Supplemental in both cases. The heater runs independently of the flame, which is why most owners use these as a year-round visual feature and switch the heat on only when the evening calls for it.

Comparing formats? See 3-sided electric fireplaces for every brand in this shape, see-through fireplaces for the two-sided alternative, or napoleon for the full range.