Infrared Heating Panels....Again!

Agree 100% with the above.


As has been said in many threads - including this one - there are many uses for these heaters. Apart from those described above, they were used in unheated bathrooms, people sitting at a bench in a garage etc etc.


However that is not how they are marketed by some companies. They are suggested as an alternative to Central Heating - at a cost of £thousands - where rooms will be kept at, say, 21C, whilst implying they will be only using a fraction of the electricity to maintain that temperature.

Reading this with interest. Our old and inefficient boiler needs replaced and I grudge shelling out for another gas guzzler when prices for gas in the next ten years are anything but a foregone conclusion. It strikes me that these panels might be best mounted on the ceiling - if they are (or could be made) thin enough they could be a feature, perhaps tiled?

Then used in conjunction with motion detector and / or some of the new remote technology that you can control through your smart phone you need only ever heat a room when you are IN it. Since the panels give instant radiant heat you could save a fortune as you are not heating a room for 15 minutes before it actually gets warm and for 30 minutes after it's switched off. As an example, If you are in your living room between 6pm and 11pm on a winters night (in Scotland that means half the year!) then you have 45 minutes x5 days x about 160 = about 600 hrs less heating per year. This doesn't count the mornings where you will have a similar problem.

The instant nature of the heating and it's location for heating effect therefore have to be the most important factors for actually saving money together with the use of other tech for controlling its use.

Also, wondering if these could be powered by solar direct from DC to avoid energy loss by converting from DC back to AC.

Anyone tried any of this?

Looking for useful input, not 'stick with gas' as a stock answer.

600 hrs a year of not having to have a gas boiler running sounds to me like it could save money. To progress we need to embrace change.

What about solar panels, ceiling mounting and use of tech?

I'd like to know others experience and thoughts on this.

Cardew wrote: »

Your point is covered in posts #41 and #42 above as well as in many other threads.

Thanks, I am going to give this a go and monitor it properly. Big challenge will be getting the wife to agree to a panel on the ceiling tho so aesthetics are a factor. I wonder what the price point is in that graph?


Above all, you do not need to pay a fortune for these heaters - see Post#37

As with anything it pays to shop around as companies jump on this and 'add value' but this stuff looks simple. Bolt on wall or ceiling and plug in so a real DIY opportunity (so long as your not a Frank Spencer DIY guy).

MrInnovator wrote: »

Looking for useful input, not 'stick with gas' as a stock answer.

600 hrs a year of not having to have a gas boiler running sounds to me like it could save money. To progress we need to embrace change.

What about solar panels, ceiling mounting and use of tech?

I'd like to know others experience and thoughts on this.

My point stands. Gas is cheaper than electric, and as long as gas is used to produce electric, it always will be.

Who cares how much gas a boiler guzzles, it is the end cost that matters.

You want to blow a load of cash on technology that you have no idea of how it will affect your comfort level, how it will feel in your house, or how much energy it will use, just so you can stick two fingers up to gas?

Seems like an exercise in money wasting, not money saving.