Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036)

A slimmer frame buys a bigger fire

Touchstone's own comparison of its three Sideline tiers is refreshingly specific: the standard Sideline has a full-glass front panel and three flame colours, while "the Sideline Elite features a slimmer frame for a larger viewing area, additional color options, and includes driftwood media." The numbers back that up. Both 50-inch units occupy almost the same wall footprint, but the Elite's visible fire measures 46 inches wide by 14 3/8 inches tall against the standard Sideline's 45 by 12. That is nearly two and a half inches of extra flame height from a unit that is actually two inches shorter overall.

Bob Vila's write-up leads with the same observation, noting that "the slender frame on the Touchstone Sideline Elite gives it a sleek, contemporary appearance." In a room where the fireplace sits under a mounted television, the narrower bezel is the difference between a unit that reads as architecture and one that reads as an appliance.

Sixty colour combinations and a driftwood bed

The Elite runs six flame colours at three speeds over a ten-colour media bed, which Touchstone publishes as sixty combinations. That is double the standard Sideline's thirty and it is the single most visible upgrade. Forbes Vetted built its luxury pick around it, describing the unit as having "over 60 flame combinations" alongside the smart control.

The media is the other differentiator. Where the standard Sideline ships with a faux log set and glass crystals, the Elite adds driftwood as a third option, and Bob Vila lists "log, driftwood, and crystal bed effects in 10 color choices" among the reasons it named the Elite best smart fireplace. Driftwood is the option that reads as contemporary without going all the way to crystals, and it is the one that suits a pale or Scandinavian-leaning room.

Bob Vila also breaks out how the sixty figure is arrived at: six flame colours at three speeds sitting over a ten-colour bed. That is worth knowing because it means the flame and the media are on separate circuits, so you can run a warm orange fire over a cool blue bed or leave the bed glowing with the flame switched off entirely. It is the same architecture as the standard Sideline, just with twice as many flame colours feeding it.

Hardwire it or plug it in

Both publications call out the dual power option. Forbes Vetted notes the Elite "can be plugged into a standard plug or hard-wired into the electrics," and Bob Vila lists the same flexibility alongside cool-touch glass and an eight-hour timer. For a permanent install this matters more than it sounds: hardwiring removes the cord from the wall cavity entirely and lets the fireplace be controlled from a wall switch as well as the app.

Touchstone's install guidance is the same as for the standard Sideline — at least eight inches of clearance below a ceiling or a mounted flat screen, at least six inches above the floor — and the unit is vent-free, so no chimney, gas line or external venting is involved. The rough opening is 48 3/4 by 18 1/4 by 5 1/2 inches, which clears standard 2x6 framing.

Bob Vila reports flaky Wi-Fi from some owners

The Elite's smart stack is the reason to buy it and also its most-reported weak spot. Bob Vila's con line is direct: "It's expensive compared to nonsmart options, and some found the Wi-Fi flaky." Forbes Vetted does not repeat that complaint but does note that customers report it is easy to install, feels realistic and is "worth the hefty price" — a phrasing that concedes the price is the thing buyers have to talk themselves past.

Touchstone maintains a separate Wi-Fi quick-start page and setup guide for the smart Sideline range, which is a reasonable signal that onboarding is the friction point rather than day-to-day operation. The remote and the onboard controls work regardless, so a dropped Wi-Fi connection degrades the fireplace to a normal fireplace rather than breaking it.

That distinction matters most for a recessed install. Once the unit is inside a framed opening it is not trivial to get behind, so a smart feature that fails hard would be a genuine problem. Because the Elite falls back to infrared and touch control, a router change or a firmware hiccup costs you the voice commands and the scheduling but not the fireplace itself.

Same heater as the cheaper Sideline

This is the fact that should decide the purchase. Touchstone's specification sheets for the two 50-inch units are identical where it counts: a coil wire heater with blower, 1,500 watts, 5,000 BTU, 400 square feet of coverage, 120 volts. The Elite is actually the lighter of the two at 48.45 pounds against 59. Nothing about the extra outlay makes the room warmer.

Forbes Vetted says so plainly, listing "Provides more ambiance than heat" as a con and warning that "it's not going to warm large spaces." If your reason for buying an electric fireplace is that one room is cold, the Duraflame 3D Infrared Electric Fireplace Stove (DFI-5010) will heat it better for a small fraction of the money, and the standard Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004) will heat it identically for considerably less.

Paying the most in this lineup is the core limitation

Forbes Vetted's first con is one word — "Pricey" — and its prose is more pointed, noting that the price "hovers far above all the other electric fireplaces on this list." That was true of its list and it is true of this one; the Elite is the most expensive unit here by a wide margin, and it is roughly twice the standard Sideline for the same heat and the same install.

There is a small additional annoyance that both the Elite and its cheaper sibling share: the remote ships without batteries, which Forbes Vetted lists as a con. It is trivial in isolation and slightly grating on the most expensive unit in a category, particularly next to the Duraflame stove, where Family Handyman noted the batteries were already in the box.

Cool sides and back for a television above

One genuine engineering advantage justifies part of the premium if you are mounting a television above the fireplace. Touchstone states that the unit stays cool to the touch on the sides and back even with the heat running, and confirms in its own FAQ that it is safe to mount under a television provided there are at least eight inches of clearance above. Bob Vila corroborates the cool-touch glass and adds that the Elite carries ETL safety certification with overheating protection.

Combined with the eight-hour timer and automatic safety shutoff, that makes the Elite one of the more comfortable units in this lineup to install inside a wall cavity with electronics above it. The standard Sideline shares the cool-side design, so this is a Touchstone characteristic rather than an Elite exclusive, but it is worth knowing before comparing against a unit that vents upward.

Right for a feature wall, not for a first fireplace

Buy the Elite if the fireplace is the thing the room is arranged around, if you want the largest fire Touchstone offers at this width, and if the driftwood and expanded colour range will actually get used. It is also the right pick if you are hardwiring into a finished wall and want the cleanest possible result, and if voice control is a genuine part of how the room works rather than a specification you will use twice.

Skip it if this is your first electric fireplace. The standard Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004) delivers the same warmth, the same smart platform and the same install for much less, and the difference between three flame colours and six is not something most people notice after the first week. Skip it too if you need heat rather than light — the PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert and the Duraflame stove both make more sense on that basis.