Napoleon: Elevation X EX42

A gas fire deep enough to pass for the real thing.

Quick Facts

• Heating Capacity: 1,150–2,250 sq ft
• Viewing Area: 31″ x 38 1/4″ glass.
• Fuel: Natural gas or propane.
• Controls: Remote and phone app included; both run flame height, ember bed, and blower speed. Wall control optional.
• Fan: Optional

Who It’s For

Most gas fireplaces sit shallow behind the glass, so from across the room the fire reads flat—more picture than hearth. You get the warmth, but not the thing you actually wanted: a fire worth watching. You need a fireplace where the fire itself is the focal point. If you’re framing a new wall or remodeling and you want a traditional fire that anchors the room—logs, glow, embers, the whole scene—a standard shallow firebox will heat the space just fine, but you’ll always be able to tell it’s a gas appliance. The Elevation X 42 is built for that room.

What Makes It Special

The firebox is set deep, with a clean face and no grille work, so the fire has room to look like a fire instead of a display. Underneath the high-definition logs, a modulating electric ember bed glows and flickers the way real coals do, and top lights fill in the scene from above—so it looks alive even at a low flame. Every bit of it, from flame height to ember glow, runs from the remote or your phone without leaving the couch.

It also solves the problem above the mantel. Add the optional Dynamic Heat Control system and the wall stays cool enough that a TV or artwork can hang directly above the fireplace, even recessed—and it works without a fan, so there’s no added noise. An optional hot air distribution kit can move warm air to another room entirely instead of stacking it at the ceiling.

Possible Downsides

• The heat-circulating fan is optional rather than included; add it if you want warm air pushed to the far side of a large room.
• A TV above the fireplace requires the optional Dynamic Heat Control kit, which also reduces mantel clearances.
• The base unit doesn’t include a log set or interior panels—both are required selections you make when ordering.

If you want a gas fire people mistake for a wood fire, the Elevation X 42 is the right decision. The room it’s in becomes the room the house lives in.

Make it yours with three high-definition log sets—birch, driftwood, or split oak—ten interior looks from Westminster, Newport, and Old Town Red brick to Glacier, Ledgestone, black illusion glass, and reflective porcelain, finishing trims in black or charcoal, and optional Zen or Whitney decorative fronts.