by InspiredWritingResearch

Created on: November 16, 2010

Reviews of electric heaters for homes invariably end up talking about how they are all the same whether they are Dimplex, Glen or any other model. We chose the Dimplex 400W panel heater for heating our spare room and find that it's very different from our Glen fan heater. For a start we don't like the way the fan heater seems to suck more cold in from the rest of the house - also it's quite noisy. The electric panel heater is quiet and doesn't attract more cold air!. We have owned it for a season now and have  some details and opinions about the product to share.

The Dimplex is a 400W electric panel heater with a single heat setting. The reason for this was that we just wanted to keep the chill off the room on chilly days and didn't want something the kids could turn up indiscriminately. The panel heater has an on/off neon switch so you can keep an eye whether it's on as you pass the room, and as a reminder to turn it off if you want to go out for a long time, although it does have an overheat protection. It comes with a wall-mounting kit but we like to have ours portable for flexibility. There's a three year guarantee which we think is quite good and haven't needed so far!

It looks more stylish than an oil-filled radiator and heats up quicker.Part of a new range of slimline panel heaters which look more modern, it has some beading detail on the front with a smooth finish and rounded corners.We would say it's great for providing low level background heating or as a boost for other heating. Its light and portable so can be moved from room to room or for fixing to a wall, a mounting kit is provided.

Given the above criteria, it's been great! It's unrealisitic to expect it to heat your whole home though. Our solution? We're going to go and buy a couple more for the kids' rooms for the autumn. Used in the right way, it can significantly lower unnecessarily high central heating costs, by say, just taking the chill off the living room before the kids go to school, using a safety bathroom one, or boosting a coal fire or woodburner in the evening. It also keeps the damp off, even giving some protection against frost for pipes, or black mould condensation pockets in old houses. The Dimplex 400W  electric panel heater review for us is a thumbs-up!

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