Quantum heaters work in the same way as standard night storage heaters, by charging up overnight using the cheaper rate of electricity available on Economy 7. But what makes these heaters different is that they have thermostats and a digital programmer makeing them much more responsive to your needs.

For example, you can choose a room temperature and the times of day when you want the heater to come on, and based on your choices the heater will automatically work out how much electricity to store overnight. And an internal thermostat will ensure that when the room reaches the required temperature, the heater turns off and retains the rest of the heat it has stored for later.

Quantum heaters are better insulated than older types of night storage heater, meaning less heat escapes when it isn’t needed. They also respond to seasonal temperature changes and ‘learn’ how much heat to store.

Thanks to these improvements, the running costs of quantum heaters are around 27% lower than standard night storage heaters.

Getting started

Firstly, make sure that both switches on the wall are turned on and ensure they are left on all the time, including overnight. This will not mean the heater keeps heating 24 hours a day, it will just keep the low powered programmer active. You can turn off the wall switches in the summer, but it’s best to avoid turning the heater off and on at the wall during the colder months as this can hinder the intelligent charging function.

The controls are on the top right of the heater under a flap. There is a selector dial which can be rotated and pressed (1), a display screen (5) and three buttons: menu (2), back (3) and advance (4).
Press down the dial, and the display screen shows you the thermostat target temperature and timer mode.

Turn on the child lock by pressing and holding both back and the dial for five seconds. Do the same to unlock. You can also set a four-digit PIN code lock by going into the settings menu.
When the heater is active, “Heating on” shows at the bottom of the screen. “Heating off” shows that the heater is not currently providing heat, as set by the programmer.

Step 1: Set the time

Your Quantum heater may already have the correct time set, but if not: Press menu; rotate and then press the dial when “Date/Time” is highlighted; rotate the dial to the correct day, and press the dial to select. Repeat this process for the date, month, year and time. (The latest Quantum models know when the clocks go forward to back, so you don’t need to change the time.)

Step 2: Set the temperature

Rotating the dial changes the target temperature. Rotating left lowers the temperature, rotating right raises it. When the room reaches the temperature set, the heater will turn off. The recommended temperature range is 18-21°C. If you change the temperature during the day, remember to set it back to your preferred temperature before midnight so the heater knows how much heat to store overnight.

Step 3: Set the timer mode

There are four timer modes which decide when the heater will be active (“Heating on”):

1) User timer: Select your desired time frames (four periods)
2) Out all day: 7.5 hours heating per day in two periods (morning and evening)
3) Home All Day: 13 hours of heating per day, for people who need heat throughout the day.
4) Away: Allows you to reduce the heating while you are away. Set the number of days you are away from home and the desired temperature for this period.

To choose a timer mode, press menu and rotate the dial to highlight ‘Modes’ and press the dial to select. You can then select ‘Timer Mode’ or ‘Frost Protect’. Choosing ‘Frost Protect’ will maintain a room temperature of 7°C. Select ‘Timer Mode’ by rotating and pressing the dial and a list of Timer Modes will be shown. Their default settings are shown in the table below (the factory setting on your heater may vary from the example shown).

	Period 1	Period 2	Period 3	Period 4
User timer	06.30-09.30	11.00-13.00	15.00-17.00	18.00-22.00
Home all day	08.00-21.00	00.00-00.00	00.00-00.00	00.00-00.00
Out all day	06.00-08.30	17.00-22.00	00.00-00.00	00.00-00.00

You can then choose to ‘Select’, ‘Preview’ or ‘Modify’ the timer mode. Pressing ‘Select’ will choose this timer option. You can view the times currently set with ‘Preview’ without risking accidental changes. If the pre-set time periods don’t suit you, ‘Modify’ allows you to customise them.

Advance button

If the heater is in “Heating off” mode but you need heat earlier, pressing advance will turn the heater to “Heating on”, bringing forward the start of the next time period. This will use heat already stored in the heater and so can leave less stored heat available for later in the day, so use this setting sparingly. Pressing advance when “Heating on” is showing will turn the heater off until the next heating period. Advance can be useful if you are in and out of home at different times to those set on the timer.

Boost

The Boost option (found by pressing menu) switches on a booster heating element. You can choose the target temperature and the duration of the boost (in minutes). Once the boost has run for the selected time it will automatically switch off.

Note that the boost option uses the expensive rate of electricity, and should be avoided except for emergencies (for example, unusually cold weather), and that an ‘auto boost’ option may be on.

Other things to note …

New models of the Dimplex Quantum can be controlled remotely via a Dimplex app.

Sometimes watching a video is the best way to learn about using Quantum heaters. There are some excellent short guides in this Dimplex playlist.

And here are instructions for using the Dimplex Quantum.

Finally, remember to leave a gap of 30cm in front of your heater to prevent a fire hazard.