Infrared Heating

How It Works

Infra red heaters are an effective and energy efficient method of heating people and property. It is the oldest form of heating known to man as before the discovery of fire the sun heated the earth with infra red rays.

Infrared is the direct transfer of heat from the heater to the object (you and the room around you) without heating the air in between in the same way the sun heats the earth from across space from 93 million miles away.

Infrared heaters work by converting electricity into radiant heat.  The heat produced is the same feeling of warmth as the winter sun on your face or the heat from a fire. It is the same form of heat emitted by your own body. It is the most oldest form of heating known to man as it is the way the sun heats the earth. It is completely safe with the wavelength of the infra red the most efficient for warming the body, there are no harmful UV rays in it.

Infrared directly heats the walls, floor and ceiling of a building , this is referred to the thermal mass of the building. Once the thermal mass is warm, the building will retain the heat for a period of time, so the heater only needs to be on to top up the heat when it is on.

Most other forms of heaters are convection heaters which will heat the air, this then has to transfer its heat to the building in order to warm the thermal mass. The problem is that hot air rises to the ceiling and you heat the room from the top down and not directly to the areas where the heat is required. The direct transfer of heat to the building is more efficient and saves energy compared to convection heating providing a comfortable environment without dry and stuffy air.

Natural Heat

You will  feel warm if you’re absorbing heat from the environment and will feel cold if you’re radiating your own body heat to the outside world.

By warming the walls, ceiling and floor of the room we are in your body you will feel warm and comfortable. This is the objective of infrared heating: to build up “thermal mass” in an environment and let it keep you warm.

For most people, if the environment around us is more than 26C or less than 16C, we feel discomfort, because we are either gaining or losing too much body heat. This is because humans are radiant objects, over 60% of our sense of comfort is governed by radiant heat gain or loss to our bodies. Only 15% of our sense of comfort is governed by the temperature of the air around us.

By heating the walls, ceiling and floor of the room we are in (not the air) to at least 17c and ideally to around 22c, our bodies will stop perceiving that we are losing heat and we will feel warm and comfortable.

Typically savings of 37% can be seen on electricity use and cost over the use of even modern convection heaters or night storage heaters as infra red panels require less power to heat the same size room because radiant heat transfers heat much more efficiently.

The heaters can be wall or ceiling mounted, which frees up wall space in the room. Ideally each room where they are fitted should have it’s own programmable thermostat to further ensure savings by only heating the rooms to be occupied at a comfortable heat. Wi-fi compatible controls are available to give the flexibility to control your heating from a distance.