A flame that costs 7 watts, or a heater that actually holds warmth

Dimplex XHD26 vs Noirot Radiaflo

Do you want ambience with optional heat, or a heater that happens to look serious?

These sit in adjacent categories on this site for a reason: both plug into a wall and produce warmth, but only one of them is designed primarily to do that.

Dimplex XHD26

8.1/10

Wins 2 of 8

Search Amazon

Noirot Radiaflo

8.1/10

Wins 3 of 8

Check price

Row by row

Compared on	XHD26	Radiaflo
Primary purpose	Decorative flame effect, heater is a switchable extra	Heating — no decorative flame
Heater output	1400 W	1,000 W
Flame-only power draw	7 W	Not applicable — no flame effect
Heat retention after switch-off	Not published	Fluid thermal inertia — continues radiating stored heat, per Noirot
Programming	Not published	Free daily and weekly programming
Certification	Not published	Origine France Garantie + NF certification
Fitting	Built-in insert only — needs a surround or cut-out	Not published (spec sheet describes the unit only)
Listed on amazon.com	No	Yes

A tick marks the better answer on that line only. Counting ticks does not decide the page — the two verdicts below do, because these products answer different questions.

Who should take which

XHD26

No amazon.com listing was found for this one. We hold references for other markets but none for the United States, so it may not be buyable here — which is the first thing to weigh against anything below.

Take the Dimplex if the flame effect and a flush, built-in cabinet matter more than heating capacity — Dimplex frames this explicitly as an insert with a switchable heater, not a primary heat source, and doesn't publish a room-coverage figure for the 1400 W element.

Buy the Radiaflo

Take the Noirot if you actually need to heat a room and want real thermal inertia and programmable scheduling behind it — but at the time of checking it was confirmed for sale on the French market only, so verify availability before planning around it.

The questions that keep coming up

Is 1400 W or 1000 W enough to heat a room?

Neither manufacturer publishes a room-coverage figure for these specific heating elements, so we can't state a m² rating for either. Dimplex explicitly does not present the XHD26 as a primary heat source; Noirot's Radiaflo is a dedicated heating appliance, which is the more relevant comparison if heating output is the goal.

Can the Dimplex flame run without the heater?

Yes. Dimplex states the Optiflame LED effect alone draws about 7 W, independent of the 1400 W heater, so it can run for ambience — including through summer — without the heating cost.

Each one in full

Electric fireplaces

Dimplex XHD26

1400 W · Optiflame LED · built-in insert, 7 W flame-only

A built-in insert — not freestanding — designed to fit into a custom surround, media wall cut-out, or existing chimney breast. Dimplex's Optiflame LED technology drives the flame effect, with an optional 1400 W heater that switches on separately; the flame alone draws just 7 W, letting it run continuously without the heater.

Best for: A media-wall or chimney-breast renovation where a flush, brand-name insert matters more than heat output, and the surround is being built to size around the unit.

8.1/10

Search Amazon for this model Read the review
Convector & panel heaters

Noirot Radiaflo

1,000 W fluid inertia · daily/weekly programming · NF-certified, made in France

A 1,000 W electric radiator using fluid thermal inertia — Noirot heats mineral oil with an immersion resistance, so the unit keeps radiating stored warmth after the element cuts out. It carries free daily and weekly programming, a window-open detector, a parental lock, Origine France Garantie and NF certification, and Noirot states it was voted 'Product of the Year 2024' in France. It's the most expensive heater in this family, and we could only confirm a live offer on one of the six markets we checked.

Best for: Someone in France specifically who wants a French-made, NF-certified fluid-inertia radiator with full daily and weekly programming, and is fine paying a real premium for it.

8.1/10

Check price on Amazon Read the review