Infrared Heating Panels....Again!

fishybusiness · 27 April 2012 at 7:18PM

I've read other threads on the forum regarding the cost effectiveness of these panels. The general view seems to be that they are no better or worse than other electric heaters.

I'm interested myself as we live in a house with rubbishy 3kw Dimplex convector heaters, and have thought about replacing them.

I know the argument of 100% efficiency for electric heaters, but I think for infrared there is more to it. For example, convectors and radiant heaters heat air and objects, infrared heats objects, the claimed efficiency seems to be due to infrared not heating air mass that is moving or lost from the house.

There is a good report that explains in more detail the theory, anyone interested could Google "LITERATURE STUDY ON RADIANT HEATING IN A THERMALLY- COMFORTABLE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT" by Maria Nila Alban

lithopsian · 27 April 2012 at 8:26PM

Efficiency is irrelevant and any claims they might make about being more efficient are just hype. All the electricity that an electric heater uses ends up as heat inside the room (plus a tiny tiny bit of light maybe?) and that makes it 100% efficient. Any differences that you may feel are just that, differences that you feel. Maybe you would like standing in front of an infra-red panel? Or maybe you prefer warm air wafting over you. The only real way to know is to try them, not to read some marketing brochure.

Your real problem is not efficiency but the cost of electricity. On a normal tariff that's about three times as much as natural gas, not quite so bad compared to oil. On Economy 7 there is much less difference but you generally pay a bit extra on your day units to for the privilege of cheap night electricity. No help to you anyway.

daveyjp · 27 April 2012 at 8:54PM

Infra red is directional so if you sit in front you can feel the heat, but they are still warming the air. They cost the same to run as other heaters of similar output.

fishybusiness · 27 April 2012 at 10:34PM

The directional aspect was what I was thinking about, plus the radiant aspect. Convectors just do not give that warm feel that radiators do.

The other thing I thought about was the way convectors heat the air, causing an air rising/falling effect. Effectively the warm air is stuck up at the ceiling, and in running a convector to warm a room a whole room full of warm air is created, and with air flow around a house being as it is, I wonder if that is one reason convectors are not an 'efficient' way to heat a home.

Which led me to infra red, they will heat walls, people, perhaps the pet cat too, but air flow is less of a problem.

All of the previous threads regarding infra red argue the issue of electricity/panel efficiency, I really don't think that is for debate, as others have said it is fact, perhaps the debate is about just where the heat ends up, and how effective they are at heating a room/people for a given rating.

Anyone have real life experience of these panels?

jalexa · 27 April 2012 at 10:50PM

fishybusiness wrote: »

Anyone have real life experience of these panels?

Any "hot body" emits infra-red but domestic heating panels must be restricted to a safe surface temperature which limits the amount of energy which can be emitted.

You are going to have to say exactly what "panels" you are referring to.

Terrylw1 · 28 April 2012 at 12:58AM

jalexa wrote: »

Any "hot body" emits infra-red but domestic heating panels must be restricted to a safe surface temperature which limits the amount of energy which can be emitted.

You are going to have to say exactly what "panels" you are referring to.

So what you are saying is I should rub myself up against one of these...

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRRr3HMyY08NQznuCsQVqTSmw8UZHU55KOmwjT9YA_tWBvRAz4N

...I'm liking your thinking

fishybusiness · 28 April 2012 at 9:22AM

Looked at two suppliers, Redwell Heating, they seem to be all over the Internet, and these

w w w multiheat-energysystems.co.uk/shop-2/infrared-heating-panels1/wall-or-ceiling-infraredheating-panel-850w

and there is a report maybe worth a read, probably commissioned by Redwell, but still interesting.....

w w w redwell.com/upload/533_redwell-studie-uni-thessaloniki-v1.2-2011-en.pdf

I couldn't post them as links because I am a new member.

penrhyn · 28 April 2012 at 10:29AM

Over £300 for an 850 watt heater!!!!!!

And one that will seriously screw up any remote controls you have for your TV etc.

fishybusiness · 28 April 2012 at 10:51AM

Do they interfere with remotes? Didn't think of that angle I think it is worth an 'ask' to the manufacturers, will drop them a line.

The cost...yes they ain't cheap, but think about it another way, last winter we bought two Inverter paraffin heaters, 4kW max output, they were £300 a go and the paraffin works out about £1.80 a litre with postage added. They are great space heaters but cost more than electricity to run.

I guess what I am saying is that for those of us that do not have gas or oil central heating, choices really are limited, and working out the best way to keep the house warm may mean shelling out more cash in the beginning.

jalexa · 28 April 2012 at 11:08AM

fishybusiness wrote: »

working out the best way to keep the house warm may mean shelling out more cash in the beginning.

Now you are talking about keeping the house warm rather than the room occupants.

I guess if you invested in a control scheme incorporating occupancy sensors and individual roomstats you might have an effective (and economical) heating system with "infra-red".

Cost wise, I think a Lidl's oil-filled radiator (with timer) would be nearly as effective at much less overall cost. And you could take it with you if you move.

penrhyn · 28 April 2012 at 11:23AM

Modern storage heaters on an economy 7 tarriff would be worth a serious look.

Infrared Heating Panels....Again!

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