Who this checklist is for

I manage purchasing for a company with three locations and about 180 employees—maybe 200 if you count the part-time field team. I'd have to check the org chart. I'm not an engineer. I'm the person who gets the ticket that says it's cold in here and turns it into an order.

If you're in the same position, this checklist will save you a couple of expensive mistakes. It has 7 steps, plus the things I still see go wrong in our own orders.

Step 1: Start with the complaint, not the heater

It sounds too simple, but the word cold can mean drafty windows, a thermostat set to 19°C instead of 21°C, an HVAC damper stuck open, or just one person sitting near the door. According to ASHRAE Standard 55, the acceptable winter comfort range for most indoor spaces is roughly 68-75°F. That gives you a baseline to compare against.

Before you order anything, ask who is cold and when. Is it one desk in the morning? The whole room after lunch? If the complaint follows the sun, you might need blinds, not a heater.

In 2020, when I started in this role, I bought four 1500W heaters for office spaces that didn't need them. The real problem was the building's recirculating fan. The heaters went back.

Step 2: Don't let cheap Dimplex heaters turn into an expensive mistake

Cheap Dimplex heaters is one of the most common searches that ends up on my desk. The thing is, cheap on the shelf is not the same as cheap to operate. The lowest-price Dimplex heaters are usually low-wattage panel models, and that's fine for a small insulated space. It is not fine for a large warehouse or a room with 12-foot ceilings.

I don't have hard data on wattage per square foot that applies to every building. What I can tell you anecdotally: I bought a 500W panel heater for a small conference room because it was on sale. It ran for eight hours and never got the room above 18°C. I switched to a 1000W programmable panel heater and set the thermostat. It did the job, and because it cycled, the monthly electricity use wasn't as scary as I expected.

My rule now is simple: look at the output, the thermostat type, and the running cost, not just the ticket price.

Step 3: If you searched Dimplex storage heaters how to use, start here

Storage heaters are not like regular electric heaters. They charge at night on an off-peak electricity tariff and release that stored heat during the day. Think of a storage heater as a battery for warmth. That's the basic idea, but the details matter.

The working version is: check that you are on a time-of-use tariff. Set the input control at night to charge the storage core. Set the output control in the morning to release the heat when people are in the office. Keep the air intake and outlet vents clear. According to Dimplex installation guidance, the space in front of a storage heater must stay clear too—the exact clearance is in the manual for your model.

If you are not on an off-peak rate, I would argue storage heaters don't make sense. A programmable convector heater with a thermostat is easier to control and cheaper to run in most office situations.

Step 4: Remember that office air moves through more than heaters

One email thread last winter reminded me why I keep a broad checklist. There were three separate requests: a Dewalt fan that was blowing weakly, a Samsung fridge with no cold air in the main section, and an air compressor for car tires because the cold weather had set off every low-pressure warning.

The Dewalt fan was easy: dust. I pulled the front grille, cleaned the fan blades, and it worked. If you have an industrial fan that is slow, don't assume it is dead. Clean it first.

The fridge question—why is my samsung fridge not cooling but freezer works—is a classic airflow problem. Usually it is a clogged condenser coil, a frozen evaporator coil, or a failing evaporator fan motor. The freezer is cold because cold air is produced there, but if it can't reach the fridge section, the fridge stays warm. It is a service call, not a reason to order a new fridge.

The air compressor for car tires was the simplest purchase: a 1-gallon pancake compressor is enough for filling tires. I looked for one with a filter/regulator and a 3-foot hose. And since we order from multiple vendors, I test any new supplier with a small order before trusting them with a big one.

Step 5: Verify electrical specs before you place the order

Dimplex heaters come in different voltages, wattages, and mounting options. A panel heater may be hardwired or plug-in. Before ordering, check the circuit load. In our 2024 vendor consolidation project, we found two 1500W heaters on the same 15-amp circuit. Every morning, the breaker had already popped by the time I opened Slack.

That's the sort of thing that makes me look bad in front of the operations manager. Now every heater order includes a quick calculation: total watts on the circuit divided by 120V gives amps. If it's close to 15, I call an electrician.

Step 6: Run a small pilot order first

Small doesn't mean unimportant. A small order is a legitimate test. It tells you how the vendor handles invoices, lead times, and parts.

When I took over purchasing in 2020, I found a vendor whose prices were $300 cheaper on a volume order. Nice. The invoice was a handwritten receipt, finance rejected it, and I ended up cleaning up the mess. Now I order one or two units first. If the vendor sends a clean invoice and the product arrives with the right documentation, they get the bigger order.

Step 7: Write down what you bought and when

This is the least glamorous step, but it's the one that saves the most money. Keep a simple maintenance log with purchase date, serial number, warranty expiry, and the vendor phone number.

For a Samsung fridge issue, that log tells you whether the unit is under warranty. For a Dimplex storage heater, it tells you when the controls were last checked. For the air compressor, it tells you when the pressure switch was replaced. Ten minutes of writing saves days of where did we buy this.

Mistakes I've made so you don't have to

If you only take one thing from this guide, let it be this: slow down and match the equipment to the space. The classic errors are:

  • Assuming the cheapest option is the best value. It's not, if it's too small for the room.
  • Buying heating equipment without checking the circuit.
  • Forgetting that air movement matters for both heating and cooling. A good fan can help a heater distribute heat.
  • Not keeping proof of purchase. That handwritten invoice problem cost me $300 from my own budget.

Prices change, so confirm current numbers. As of February 2025, a basic Dimplex panel heater was in the $110-$260 range depending on wattage and controls. Storage heaters cost more because of the brick core. Verify current pricing—it varies by vendor and region.