Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We are glad that we read the reviews here and were careful to inspect the panels upon arrival for flaws. One out of the four we ordered was sent back due to a flaw in the material and the replacement we ordered was fine. There was an extremely strong "chemical" smell on the panels and the shipping materials/instruction sheet were permeated with it. The weather was nice so we kept all the boxes and materials on the patio until we made sure the panels were operational. Then we wiped the panels down with a damp cloth, plugged them in and allowed them to off-gas outside for an afternoon. We then painted one side of two of them to match the walls where they were going (low-VOC latex enamel paint, two coats). A roller designed for smooth surfaces worked best for this process. Then we plugged them in again to off-gas again outside. Before installation my husband determined where the mounting screws would go into the wall, then cut some thin, reflective insulation to a size that fits just inside the mounting hardware. He finished the edges with reflective insulation tape and attached it to the wall with double-sided tape before he installed the panels. ( https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GTRMYTH/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) This insulation reflects heat back into the room and helps prevent heat transfer through the wall behind the panels (in our case, exterior walls). Once installed in this manner, the reflective insulation is not visible, even from a side angle, unless you intentionally look directly behind the panel. One of the heaters still off-gassed that original (but not-as-strong) odor when it was turned on, so for the first few days I just turned it on and shut the (bathroom) door with the window cracked and fan on. Now the odor is much fainter and will hopefully grow even fainter with more use. Because of the odor we hesitate to install the other two panels in bedrooms as planned. For now we will just wait until we see if the off-gassing of the first two eventually ceases entirely. We purchased the LUX WIN100 plug-in thermostats for the two installed units: ( https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000E7NYY8/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_35 ). These thermostats are easy to use, intuitive to program, and seem to be working well. You plug the thermostat into the outlet, then plug the heater into the thermostat (heater plug only has two prongs). Try to make sure the heater is not too close to the thermostat's sensor. Because the panels are ideally installed low on the wall, and the plug-ins can be alongside or below the heater depending on installation, you may have to adjust the thermostat several times until you find what temperature setting on the thermostat actually works/feels best in your particular installation scenario. I am glad we bought these toward the end of summer and were able to unpack and process them outside because of the odor. We never would have been able to be in the same house with them if they had to be indoors with us during the initial phases. Now that we have two panels successfully installed and running on thermostats, I will give it some time and then update this review once they have been in operation for a while.