Dimplex: Vital Spark 36

Flames every night of the year—heat only when you ask for it.

Quick Facts

• Heating Capacity: 0–500 sq ft
• Fuel: Electric.
• Controls: Remote, hidden touch panel, or the Glen Dimplex Connect phone app; built-in timer up to 8 hours.
• Fan: Included

Who It’s For

Most fireplaces go dark from April to October because the flames only come with the heat. You need a fire that runs with or without the heater. If you want a fireplace the household actually uses in every season—set from the couch, the wall, or your phone—the Vital Spark 36 is the one. Pick a heat-only unit instead and the fireplace stays a winter feature.

What Makes It Special

Most electric fires give you one look. This one gives you 13 flame colors, three brightness levels, and three flame speeds over a molded logset and a five-color ember bed—an orange wood-fire glow for movie night, a cool blue for a summer dinner outside the glass. Press a button on the remote and it adds the crackle of a real fire.

It also runs on ordinary household power: a 120-volt plug kit is included, or it can be hardwired. Set the timer for up to eight hours and the fire shuts itself off after everyone has gone to bed.

Possible Downsides

• Heat is fan-forced and tops out at 1,500 watts—warmth for the room it’s in, not a substitute for the furnace.
• The molded logset is the only media bed; there is no glass or stone alternative.
• Coverage is a 1-year limited warranty on electrical components.

If you want a fire you can enjoy in July as easily as January, the Vital Spark 36 is the right decision. The fireplace stops being a winter feature and becomes part of every evening in the house.

Thirteen flame colors, seven media theme colors, a five-color ember bed, and three brightness and speed settings let you tune the fire to the room you already have.