RV fireplace vs 1500 watt electric heater

The fire place is a lot quieter then the cube heater.

All electric heaters are 100% efficient, I know some claim to be better than others but when it comes to heat, ALL ELECTRIC HEATERS convert watts to BTU's at exactly the same rate

So a 1500 watt fire place or a 1500 watt ceramic cube, Same amount of heat.

Fireplace looks nicer.

Our fireplace was part of the rig as delivered. We love the location and heat it produces. However, if it wasn't part of the package, I'd have purchased a portable heater.

Yes the cube heater is less expensive, but they are noisy. The fire place units are quiet. It that's important to you.

We have both fireplace and a space heater and use them both at times. Fireplaces are nice and add a warm and comfort of home feeling. You don't have to have the heat option on with the fireplace which is another benefit, fireplace, movie, and a glass of wine what could be better...

if your decision is about efficiency, heat for cost, then choose a stand alone heater. A KW of electricity in any type of resistance heater produces 5120 btu's of heat.
My DW prefers comfort and the ambiance of candles over a fake fire that loses heat through lesser insulated spaces that house it.

We have a portable fireplace heater..looks and heats like an installed fireplace but we can move it anywhere..in fact, we bring it in the house when we are home during the winter. Love it and still have the extra storage space where the installed fireplace would have been.

Our '11 Greystone came with a fireplace and it was nice. When we parted company with it, we found a small electric portable 'Franklin' style for our Wildcat. It had a 'flame' for ambiance and it had two heat settings. Our Open Range came with a fireplace and in reality would rather have the Franklin than the built it. At least with a portable unit you can move it where you want and need it.

Check out Vornado brand heaters. We also have both a fireplace and stand alone heaters and use both as needed. We have a 30 ft. TT and that Vornado heats it quite well and I can move it to where I need it. Only use the fireplace occasionally and not all night like the Vornado.

It really comes down to aesthetics and convenience and available space. The built-in fireplace is more convenient as all you have to do is flip a switch. It takes up interior storage space and in many RV's that is already in short supply.

A portable unit can be pulled out and plugged in as needed and put in an outside storage space when it is not needed. It can be smaller and take less space and we like that we can heat up only a part of the camper.

I would expect that the majority of RV fireplaces are installed in large 5th wheel trailers and few in other types of RV's.