Quantum Electrical heating by Dimplex

buxton123

The Dimplex Quantum storage heater has been heralded by Dimplex as a revolution in heating - providing - so their ads say - up to a 27% saving over the older type storage heaters. DON'T BELIEVE A WORD OF IT! I have recently had these heaters installed in my flat - I only have a small living room and the largest heater they make is installed. It is LESS efficient than the 20 year old heater it replaces - to get the room even comfortable it must be run on it's maximum setting - and the weather is relatively mild at the moment - I am dreading next winter! So far as economy goes it is actually using MORE electricity than my old storage heaters. Nice try Dimplex but you are in danger of believing your own hype. My recommendation - easy - don't buy these heaters! They don't even look any better than the older type heaters, only a bit shiny. that's the only good thing about them. Update - dont bother complaining to Dimplex either they will only give you the run around. They make it as difficult as possible to make any complaint,

Richie-from-the-Boro

If any storage heater [1940's or 2060's] run on it's maximum setting that does not supply sufficient heat is because the installation per kWh/m2 was crap. A schoolboy with a mobile phone could tell you you have undersized kWh storage. The 27% saving is over manual storage heaters not 27% over older type in itself.

michaelmdfe

I live in the country, where piped gas is not an option. We have the old style storage heaters, with all their drawbacks - lack of flexibility, running out of heat in the evenings, wasted heat during the day when the house is empty etc.


I am currently running a trial in one room, using a Quantum storage heater. Forgetting the interaction with the energy suppliers ( as this is either for the future or will never happen ) and looking at the energy usage and flexibility only, I am very impressed so far.


Most of the heat is dispensed from the bottom of the heater via a fan. The fan is electronically programmed to suit the times that the room is occupied. A small amount comes from the heater body as ' uncontrolled heat ' but not much, because the overall insulation is much better than in old style heaters. This means that the vast majority of the stored heat is only dispensed when needed.


We can now achieve the temperature that we need with only one heater. Previously we had two heaters in the room and it was too hot in the morning, too cold in the evening and wasted heat all day.


I've monitored room temperature, against the programmer and can agree with the data put out by Dimplex. When we are out and the programmer has switched off the output fan, the room temperature drops fast. This shows that the heat wastage is vastly reduced.


It's important to ' size ' the heater properly for the room - I'm sure that this is why some people have problems. For a 3.5kw heater on economy 7, the maximum energy that can be stored will be ( 7 x 3.5 ) 24.5 kilowatt hours. If there are no heat losses ( and obviously there will be some ) this is the stored energy you have to play with. If the room needs to be heated for, say 8 hours per day, the output for this period would be similar to running a 3kw fan heater. This is a very simplified description but is designed to show that you can only get out what you put in.


In summary, heat losses are down and flexibility is up, in comparison to the old style storage radiators. If the units are ' sized ' properly then this seems to be a very good alternative to oil / bottled gas, but not yet competitive against mains gas.


I haven't finished the trial yet and will post again if anything causes me to change my view.

rustyboy21

Just a little bit of a story behind Dimplex and their testing.


They have a new state of the art R&D site in Ireland, that I went over to last year. We were given a tour. The testing facility is great. |They have a couple of sealed rooms, they have a std double glazed unit on one wall and walls/floor/ceiling to replicate a typical house.


They can alter the temperature outside the room, to replicate winter time and throughout the room, they have temp monitors linked to a computer. The Quantum has been on test in one of these rooms for 18+ months, 24/7.


I would say that the results they give in the Blurb, are the most accurate that I have seen any manufacturer give. They have tried really hard to make everything correct and above board.


I don't sell storage heaters myself, but they have invested Millions into the development of the Quantum, so it is their vested interests to get things right. There is a shortage of them at present as the take up by new build and authorities has been amazing, the factories are working shift patterns, which has not been done before. If you have an issue with getting hold of Quantum, have a look at the Creda version, it is made in the same place and is the same company, just rebadged.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Glen Electric, and old early [Newry - oil-filled - domestic] 70's Irish domestic manufacturer has come a long way since acquiring Dimplex [Dunleer - any / all electric heating - domestic and commercial] in the late 70's. From 1990 to present they have become truly world wide with gas & electric products including ground, air or water heat pumps and solar thermal water. A long way from the 7 man band in Nedwry.

Everyone / anyone who reads these threads will know I'm a fan [not a Phan-boy] of Dimplex not because they are ""old tech just polished up"" as '# soupie69uk' puts it but because in the electric heating comparison market they have a healthy R&D budget and unlike most box makers develop year on year with one eye on the consumer and the other on the energy grid and the challenges of storing energy [security of energy supply] demand side management and time of consumption needs of the grid and benefits to the electricity consumer. They are about 10 years ahead of the UK game, its a shame that politicians are not as innovative, perhaps Putin or the non realisation of shale volumes will spur the political class to action before the lights go out.

bobbykins1234

We had Dimplex Quantum Storage Heaters installed along with our 6 neighbours. After reading the grab put out by Dimplex ie 20% more efficient rubbish we are on a key meter and we put into the meter £30 over 40 hours. Our neighbours pay monthly by direct debit after having the dimplex heaters on for a short time their direct debit was increased by almost 50%.so much for being 27% more eefficient.