If you’ve spent any time shopping for an electric fireplace lately, you’ve probably noticed the same handful of brands showing up everywhere you look: Dimplex, Modern Flames, SimpliFire, maybe Napoleon. They’re solid brands. But if you’ve also walked away from those searches feeling like something was missing — like the flame looked almost real but not quite — there’s a reason for that, and it’s the entire subject of this post.
We just brought in a brand most U.S. homeowners haven’t seen yet: British Fires, and specifically their flagship linear unit, the New Forest 1600. It’s now running live in our showroom here in Tampa, and we made a full video walkthrough and comparison to go with this post — you can watch it below or keep reading for the full breakdown.
Why Almost Every Electric Fireplace “Log” You’ve Seen Isn’t Actually a Log
Here’s the thing nobody tells you when you start shopping electric fireplaces: the log set in nearly every unit on the market — Dimplex, Modern Flames, SimpliFire, all of them — is not real wood. It’s ceramic, resin, or in some of the newest premium lines, an HD video screen playing a loop of flame footage behind a printed log graphic. That’s not a knock on those brands; the technology is genuinely impressive and has come a long way. But it’s still a simulation, however convincing.
The British Fires New Forest 1600 does something different. Inside the firebox, you’ll find genuine oak logs sourced from UK forests, individually scorched and charred by hand. No two fuel beds are identical, because no two real fires are identical. That single difference is the reason this unit looks less like “a very good electric fireplace” and more like an actual fire that happens to run on electricity instead of gas or wood.
What Is the British Fires New Forest 1600?
The New Forest 1600 is a 63” fully recessed linear electric fireplace, built specifically for media wall installations and large-format living spaces. It’s part of British Fires’ broader New Forest range, which also includes more compact sizes like the 1200 (48”) and larger formats like the 1900 (75”), so there’s a size that fits nearly any wall.
Key features of the New Forest 1600:
- Real, hand-charred oak log fuel bed (Deluxe and Black Editions) or authentic ceramic Signature logs, your choice
- Three style tiers — Signature, Deluxe, and Black Edition — each with a distinct look and price point
- Flexible installation — single-sided, two-sided corner, or fully recessed three-sided viewing
- Built for media walls, sized to pair cleanly with a 55″ or 65″ TV without the awkward proportions you get when a fireplace is too narrow for the screen above it
- Patented Air Curtain Technology® heating system, which channels room air down the sides of the firebox and redistributes heat evenly across the unit
- Thermostatic remote control, adjustable heat output around 1.5 kW, with the option to run the flame effect with the heat off
- Optional SCHOTT anti-reflective glass, which all but eliminates the glare you typically get from electric fireplace glass in a bright room
It’s a genuinely premium product, and it shows in the details most other brands skip.
British Fires New Forest 1600 vs. Dimplex, Modern Flames, and SimpliFire
This is the comparison most people searching for an electric fireplace actually want answered, so let’s go brand by brand, fairly.
British Fires vs. Dimplex
Dimplex has earned its reputation over 50-plus years, and lines like the IgniteXL and IgniteXL Bold use sophisticated multi-layer LED flame technology with real visual depth. Their Revillusion log sets are some of the most convincing simulated logs on the market, and many models include an industry-leading 5-year parts-and-labor warranty.
The difference comes down to what’s actually inside the firebox. Dimplex is using light and reflection to simulate log texture and depth — and doing it well. British Fires skips the simulation: the New Forest 1600’s logs are real, hand-charred wood, so there’s natural variation in grain, char, and shadow that LED systems are still trying to replicate.
British Fires vs. Modern Flames
Modern Flames helped invent the linear electric fireplace category back in 2008, and their Heliovision technology — an HD screen playing flame footage — actually solves a real problem with most electric units: it looks just as good from an angle as it does dead-on. That’s a legitimate technical advantage for certain room layouts.
But Heliovision is, at its core, video. The New Forest 1600’s flame technology is LED light interacting with real wood, not footage of wood being played on a screen.
British Fires vs. SimpliFire
SimpliFire is a strong value and versatility pick — slim profiles that retrofit easily into existing fireplace openings, solid app integration on newer models, and lower price points for budget-conscious shoppers.
Where the New Forest 1600 separates itself is fuel bed realism and build quality at the premium end of the market. If your priority is “as close to a real fire as electric technology currently allows,” the New Forest 1600 is built for that exact question.
The Honest Trade-Off
We’re not going to pretend there’s no catch. The New Forest 1600 is a premium-priced unit, and British Fires sells it through authorized dealers only — it cannot be purchased online, from us or anyone else. If you want the lowest possible price point in electric fireplaces, this isn’t it. But if you want the most realistic flame and log experience currently available in an electric fireplace, this is where the category is headed, and you’ll need to see it in person to order it.
Why You Need to See This One in Person
Photos and video genuinely undersell this fireplace. Flame depth, log shadow, and the way the Black Edition’s dark rear glass eliminates room reflections are things you feel standing in front of the unit far more than you notice on a screen. That’s exactly why we built the video walkthrough above — and why we’d encourage you to come see the New Forest 1600 running, in person, before making a final decision.
See the British Fires New Forest 1600 in Our Tampa Bay Showroom
Just Grillin Outdoor Living is proud to be one of the first authorized British Fires dealers in the Tampa Bay area, with the New Forest 1600 on live display in our Carrollwood showroom at 11743 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33618.
We regularly work with homeowners planning fireplace and media wall projects throughout Tampa, Carrollwood, Westchase, Lutz, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, Lithia, Tarpon Springs, South Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota — so if you’re anywhere in the greater Tampa Bay area and searching for an electric fireplace showroom near you, we’d love to have you stop in.
While you’re here, our team can also walk you through the New Forest 1200 and 1900 if 1.6 meters isn’t the right size for your space, and show you the Signature, Deluxe, and Black Edition tiers side by side so you can see the real difference for yourself.
Ready to see it for yourself? Visit our showroom or contact our design team to schedule a time to see the British Fires New Forest 1600 running live — heat on or off, your choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the British Fires New Forest 1600 available online? No. British Fires sells exclusively through authorized dealers, and the New Forest 1600 cannot be purchased online from any retailer, including us. You’ll need to visit an authorized showroom, like ours in Tampa, to see it and place an order.
Does the New Forest 1600 use real wood logs? Yes, in the Deluxe and Black Editions. The fuel bed uses genuine oak logs sourced from UK forests, individually hand-scorched and charred. The Signature Edition uses a ceramic log set instead, at a lower price point.
What size TV works best with the New Forest 1600? British Fires designed the 1.6-meter width to pair cleanly with 55″ or 65″ TVs for media wall installations, so the proportions line up without looking too narrow or too wide.
How much heat does the New Forest 1600 produce? The unit produces approximately 1.5 kW of heat output with a thermostatic remote, adjustable roughly between 62–80°F. The flame effect can also run independently of the heat, so it works year-round, including Florida summers.
Is there a smaller or larger size available? Yes. The New Forest range includes the more compact 1200 and the larger 1900, in addition to the 1600 featured in this post and our showroom video.