Brand guide · updated for the 2026 heating season

Dimplex electric fireplaces: which one to buy

Most brands in this category sell one heater in eight bodies. Dimplex does not — its ranges genuinely differ in how the flame is made and how much heat you get. That makes it the brand where picking the wrong range costs you most.

By Scooter M.Published September 21, 2026Last reviewed September 21, 2026

A close-up of a fire burning in a traditional indoor fireplace

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The short answer

Dimplex is the one brand here where the range genuinely changes what you get. Touchstone runs one heater in eight bodies; Dimplex does not. Opti-Myst makes a flame from water vapor and no heat at all. Revillusion builds a mirror-free firebox with the best flame in the catalog. IgniteXL is the only modulating heater on this site. And Prism, the older linear range, delivers less heat than a budget unit. Pick the range first — the model within it is the easy part.

The four ranges, and what each is actually for

Manufacturer figures from Dimplex product pages, sell sheets and the Revillusion family guide.
Range	What it is	Heat	The catch
Opti-Myst	Water-vapor flame, 25 and 28 in	None from the flame effect	Refill a water tank; brand-direct only
Revillusion	Mirror-free firebox and log sets	Fan-forced; up to 8,794 BTU/hr on higher voltage	12 1/8 in deep — needs a built enclosure
IgniteXL	Linear, 50 to 100 in	Modulating; 5,118 BTU at 120 V, 8,530 at 240 V	Price, and 5 7/8 in depth
Prism	Older linear range, 50 in	1,230 W — 4,197 BTU/hr	Less heat than a budget unit, 7 in deep

Only Revillusion and IgniteXL offer a higher-voltage configuration, and both need an electrician for it.

One unit from each Dimplex range

Ranked. The running cost column is computed from each unit's rated wattage, not quoted from a manufacturer. Tap a row for the full write-up.

#	Product	Best for	Cost per hour	Price
1	Dimplex Revillusion RLG25 25" Plug-In Log SetA plug-in log set with the Revillusion flame and a fan-forced ceramic heater, for an existing firebox and no building work.	Where most people should start	27.5¢1,500 W · 5,118 BTU	$487.99 · View on Amazon
2	Dimplex Revillusion RBF30 30" Built-In FireboxThe mirror-free firebox that built the brand's reputation — and a construction project rather than an install.	The best flame Dimplex makes	27.5¢1,500 W · 5,118 BTU	$1,999.00 · View on Amazon
3	Dimplex IgniteXL 50" Linear Fireplace (XLF50)A modulating Comfort$aver heater and a five-year warranty — the most engineering of any unit on this site, at a price to match.	The linear range, and the only genuinely quieter heater	27.5¢1,500 W · 5,118 BTU	$2,744.99 · View on Amazon
4	Dimplex Opti-Myst Revive 25" Water Vapor FireplaceWater vapor rather than LED — the most convincing flame effect made, and it produces no heat whatsoever.	The flame nothing else can match	No heaterflame effect only	Check price on Dimplex →
—	Dimplex Prism 50" Linear Fireplace (BLF5051)The older linear range: 1,230 W and 4,197 BTU — genuinely less heat than a budget unit, for considerably more money.Skip this one	Nothing, at this price	22.6¢1,230 W · 4,197 BTU	$1,059.99 · View on Amazon

#ad Buy links are affiliate links — we earn a commission on Amazon purchases at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Running cost is computed at 18.34¢/kWh; see what these actually cost to run.

The voltage table is the Dimplex trap

More than any other brand on this site, Dimplex quotes BTU figures that depend on a supply most American homes do not have at the fireplace. The headline numbers are real; the conditions attached to them are easy to miss.

Published voltage tables. The first column is the one that applies in an ordinary home.
Unit	At 120 V	At higher voltage
Revillusion RBF36	1,375 W — 4,435 BTU/hr	1,975 W at 208 V (6,739) / 2,575 W at 240 V (8,786)
Revillusion RBF30	Standard class ceiling	Up to 8,794 BTU/hr hardwired
IgniteXL 50	1,500 W — 5,118 BTU/hr	2,500 W at 240 V — 8,530 BTU/hr
Prism 50	1,230 W — 4,197 BTU/hr	No higher-voltage option

The RBF36 is the clearest example: on a normal circuit it produces LESS heat than a 1,500 W plug-in log set costing a fraction as much.

Read that RBF36 row twice if you are shopping on heat. A premium firebox that underperforms a cheap log set on the circuit you actually have is the single most expensive mistake available in this brand, and it is entirely avoidable by checking one table.

How Dimplex compares with the alternative

In practice most buyers at this price are choosing between Dimplex and Touchstone, and the two brands barely compete in most of the range — Dimplex has water vapor and mirror-free fireboxes that Touchstone does not make at all, while Touchstone's linear range is cheaper and better documented. Where they do collide, at 50-inch linear, we compare them directly on Dimplex vs Touchstone and map the Touchstone side on which Touchstone to buy.

What it costs to run

At the June 2026 US residential average of 18.34 cents per kilowatt-hour. Note that Dimplex is the one brand where these figures genuinely differ between models, because the wattages do.

What a 1,500 watt electric fireplace costs to run at 18.34 cents per kilowatt-hour
Usage	Hours	Heat on (1,500 W)	Flame only (~100 W)
One evening	4	$1.10	$0.07
A week of evenings	28	$7.70	$0.51
A month, 4 hrs a night	120	$33.01	$2.20
A 90-day winter, 4 hrs a night	360	$99.04	$6.60
Per hour	1	27.5¢	1.8¢

Revillusion RLG25 or IgniteXL 50 at 120 V Computed as (watts ÷ 1000) × rate, at 18.34¢/kWh — the US residential average from EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3 (June 2026), released 2026-08-26. Your rate is on your own bill — put it into the calculator. The flame-only column assumes a conservative 100 W for the LED assembly with the heater switched off.

What a 1,230 watt electric fireplace costs to run at 18.34 cents per kilowatt-hour
Usage	Hours	Heat on (1,230 W)	Flame only (~100 W)
One evening	4	$0.90	$0.07
A week of evenings	28	$6.32	$0.51
A month, 4 hrs a night	120	$27.07	$2.20
A 90-day winter, 4 hrs a night	360	$81.21	$6.60
Per hour	1	22.6¢	1.8¢

Prism 50, at its lower 1,230 W rating Computed as (watts ÷ 1000) × rate, at 18.34¢/kWh — the US residential average from EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3 (June 2026), released 2026-08-26. Your rate is on your own bill — put it into the calculator. The flame-only column assumes a conservative 100 W for the LED assembly with the heater switched off.

The Opti-Myst range is absent from those tables on purpose: with no heater running, the flame effect draws a small fraction of either. The running cost calculator will price any of them against your own tariff.

Choosing in one minute

Do you want heat at all? If the answer is no and realism is everything, Opti-Myst and nothing else.
Do you have an existing firebox? Revillusion RLG25 — plug in, no building work, the best flame you can get without construction.
Are you building an enclosure anyway? Revillusion RBF30, for the best flame in the catalog.
Do you want a linear fireplace in a wall? IgniteXL, and budget for 2x6 framing.
Shopping on heat? Check the voltage table before anything else, and skip the Prism.

Questions people actually ask

Which Dimplex electric fireplace is best?

For most people with an existing fireplace, the Revillusion RLG25 log set: the brand's mirror-free flame, a fan-forced ceramic heater and no building work. For the best flame regardless of effort, the Revillusion RBF30 firebox. For a linear wall unit, the IgniteXL.

Do Dimplex Opti-Myst fireplaces produce heat?

The water-vapor flame effect produces no heat at all. Heaters are a separate option on some models in the range. If warmth matters, Opti-Myst is the wrong Dimplex range.

Is Dimplex better than Touchstone?

They mostly do not compete. Dimplex makes water-vapor and mirror-free fireboxes Touchstone does not, and the only modulating heater we know of; Touchstone's linear range is cheaper and publishes more specification detail. We compare them head-to-head on Dimplex vs Touchstone.

Why does the Dimplex RBF36 produce less heat than a cheap fireplace?

Because on a 120 V circuit it draws 1,375 W, giving 4,435 BTU per hour — below the 1,500 W and 5,118 BTU that a standard plug-in unit delivers. Its headline 8,786 BTU figure requires a 240 V hardwired supply.

Are Dimplex electric fireplaces worth the money?

For the Revillusion flame and the IgniteXL's modulating heater, yes — both are genuinely better engineering than the category norm. For heat alone, no: a 120 V circuit caps every brand at the same output, so you would be paying a premium for warmth you can get for far less.

Sources

Every figure on this page is either taken from one of these documents or computed from a formula shown on the page. Nothing here is recalled from memory.