I'm really amazed by this product. It's awesome that now getting a fireplace is as easy hanging a picture on the wall.

I'm amazed as well. It's quite an undertaking to add a fireplace to a room, and this definitely lowers the barrier.

What about its heating characteristics? It uses a 33 Oz bottle (approx $8) of Ethanol for approx 4 hours of fire. Can this generate enough heat to actually perform the "heating" function of a fireplace, or is this more of a decorative item?

If your numbers are correct (33 oz of ethanol burning over a period of 4 hrs), some simple calculations would yield a heat output of 1400 Watts. This is equivalent to 23 incandescent bulbs running at 60 Watts. I used a value of 26.8 MJ/kg for the energy density of ethanol. Conclusion: more than a decorative piece. It produces about the same amount of heat as an electric fireplace.

To compare with a traditional fireplace I converted 1400 Watts to approx 5,000 BTU per hour. The average 500 sq foot room would require 15,000 BTU per hour to properly heat. The average Gas Insert fireplace puts out between 20,000 and 40,000 BTUs per hour. So this fireplace can at best provide some additional heat in a room but it is not a replacement for a traditional fireplace. More like a stand alone heater. Still it looks darn cool, but be prepared to buy lots of bottles of Ethanol for the manufacturer!

first of all it takes 25,000 BTUs to heat 500 sq feet not 15,000. Second, i don't know if i trust this smokeless fireplace to be safe. you need a flue for the poisonous gases that accumulate, not the smoke. i think that your CO levels might jump a little with this in your home. oh and by the way, for all you people that think that i am stupid or crazy out there, i am a heating and air conditioning tech.

Because of ethanol's ease of production and its low toxicity, it finds widespread use as a solvent for substances intended for human contact or consumption, including scents, flavorings, colorings, and medicines. In chemistry it is both an essential solvent and a fundamental feedstock for the synthesis of other products. Because it burns cleanly, ethanol has a long history as a fuel

Does anyone know if there are alternatives out there? I found a German company called Radius which has very cool ethanol hanging fireplaces, but the two "authorized dealers" I contacted in NYC did not know why they were on the Radius website, so I was back to square one.

This product does not work at high altitude due to the lack of oxygen. At least not at 6,000 ft (Colorado).

If you are interested in an (insert for) ethanol fireplace, please have a look at http://opdecodesign.googlepages.com/. Quite a good choice and fair prices.

Has anyone found a cheaper substitute bio-ethanol than the expensive Blomus and Fanola branded ones?