Indoor Bio-Ethanol Fireplaces UK

An indoor fire pit or fire table is a fire feature rated for use inside the home, which in practice means it runs on bioethanol or on water vapour rather than on wood. There is no chimney to build, no flue to line and no gas connection to commission. Fireside Boutique stocks 30 of them from EcoSmart Fire, Glamm Fire and Planika, from £1,249 to £12,500. Free UK mainland delivery.

Read the full indoor fire pit and fire table buying guide

What makes a fire feature safe to use indoors

Wood needs a flue, so a wood-burning fire pit is an outdoor product whatever its size. Inside the house the practical options are bioethanol, which burns a clean liquid biofuel to water vapour and carbon dioxide, and water vapour units, which involve no combustion at all. EcoSmart Fire's indoor-rated models are certified to EN 16647, the UK and EU safety standard for indoor bioethanol fireplaces.

Bioethanol or water vapour

Bioethanol gives you a real flame and real heat, and consumes fuel you top up by hand. Water vapour uses ultrasonic mist lit from below, so the flame is an optical effect: no heat, no fuel to buy, nothing hot to touch. Choose bioethanol if you want the room to feel warmer. Choose water vapour if the fire is there to be looked at, particularly around children or pets.

One unit, inside or out

Every EcoSmart Fire model in this collection is rated for both settings. On those models the Indoor configuration always pairs with bioethanol, because the gas option is outdoor only: an indoor gas installation is a different job with different requirements. So if you buy one for a garden room and later move it out onto the terrace, it goes with you.

Room size and ventilation

Bioethanol consumes oxygen and releases water vapour, so every indoor-rated model states a minimum room size on its product page. Check that figure against the room before you order and treat it as a floor rather than a target. A room that can be aired, with a window that opens, is the right home for one.

Honest trade-offs

A bioethanol fire will not heat a room the way a stove or a radiator does, and the fuel is an ongoing cost you would not have with gas. Refuelling has to be done cold, which interrupts a long evening. A water vapour unit removes both of those problems and gives you no warmth at all in exchange. And a fire table indoors occupies the floor space of a coffee table, because that is essentially what it is.

Also worth seeing

If the fire is going in the garden, see fire pits and tables. For smoke-free flame in either setting, see bioethanol and gas fire pits.

30 products