Anybody heard of Infranomics

iangec

I have just been doorstepped by a representative of an infrared heating company called Infranomics - has anybody experience of this company and their stated savings of 45% on heating costs - supposedly it is the "next generation Domestic heating" or is it snake oil?

WestonDave

Lets put it this way, I'll bet they won't be prepared to let you have one of the panels on trial so you can see for yourself how well it works before you commit to buying enough to heat your house. Seems to be connected to a load of dubious energy saving miracle cures which if they were that effective would be being marketed a lot better than a single door to door sales channel!

Richie-from-the-Boro

Look at their own tech info and decide for yourself

- so a 1kW electric in their chart is £0.16
- and a 500W Infranomic is £0.08
- think about it .. .. 2x8p is indeed £0.16
- and 2x500W is indeed .. .. 1kW

rogerblack

It is not - quite - false.
If you are just in front of a 500W heating panel, you will feel lots warmer than if you have a 500W heater in the room heating it generally.

However - you have to be sitting right next to it.
In this case - you might get some benefit, as you can be as comfortable in a 12C room as one at 20C.
But this relies on you being really close to the heater - it won't in this mode heat the whole room.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PREMIAIR-1500-WATTS-ELECTRIC-RADIANT-PANEL-HEATER-AR278-/110626816265?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item19c1df4109 - for example would be one example of this.

However - a heated throw would use 50W, and may keep you warmer.

Nada666

For a fixed panel heater this idea is nonsense. A similar effect can be achieved with a portable fan heater for one tenth of the up-fron cost. As Roger Black says, it isn't complete rubbish but it is not a replacement for central heating.

macman

It's all smoke and mirrors. All forms of electrical heating are 100% efficient, and so produce the same amount of heat, and cost the same to run (for the same rated output). The only difference is the means of delivery.

rogerblack

macman wrote: »

It's all smoke and mirrors. All forms of electrical heating are 100% efficient, and so produce the same amount of heat, and cost the same to run (for the same rated output). The only difference is the means of delivery.

This is true only for means of heating that heat the whole room.
If you end up not needing to heat the whole room to as high a temperature - things vary.

In the case of IR panels that you sit right next to (and I mean as close as your monitor is now, or not much further) you can be significantly warmer than the air temperature would indicate.
Similarly - electric blankets or heated throws provide the ultimate in directed heating, and can make you comfortable at ridiculously low temperatures if you've got a reasonable circulatory system.
(For example, 7C is quite comfortable for me, and exposed hands for long periods, if my core temperature is warmed by the electric blanket.)

NEVER EVER BUY A HEATING PRODUCT FROM SOMEONE SELLING DOOR TO DOOR.

Richie-from-the-Boro

rogerblack wrote: »

It is not - quite - false.
If you are just in front of a 500W heating panel, you will feel lots warmer than if you have a 500W heater in the room heating it generally.

However - you have to be sitting right next to it.
In this case - you might get some benefit, as you can be as comfortable in a 12C room as one at 20C.
But this relies on you being really close to the heater - it won't in this mode heat the whole room.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PREMIAIR-1500-WATTS-ELECTRIC-RADIANT-PANEL-HEATER-AR278-/110626816265?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item19c1df4109 - for example would be one example of this.

However - a heated throw would use 50W, and may keep you warmer.

Unlike others I've used these, a very good 3x2 foot version, the posts are on here somewhere, and the heater [stored away] I still own. Matt black, wall mounted, remote digital, stat controlled with a timer and 'frost' setting it never really took off as in the heating market for the reasons mentioned here. It's just no good for 'normal' dwellings. They're like the early LCD TV viewing angle where you had to be within 20° of 0° to get the benefit.

20+°C is normal and recommended for living areas in 'normal' dwellings. A persistent prolonged 7°C would be dangerous for vulnerable groups, older people, and those with serious illnesses - the risk is they don't feel the cold until their body temperature has already fallen to a dangerous level.

iangec, these products are sold on a snake~oil basis for snake~oil reasons.

fishybusiness

I also have two infrared heaters. They have their uses, over the year or so I have used them I have noticed some upsides and downsides.

The company I bought from recommended the panels be fitted to the ceiling to give the best coverage. After using them I can see why, if I was going to fit them to every room as a 'central heating' system I would do it that way. Sited on walls they are more zone heaters, as others have pointed out, the further away from the panel you are, the less the 'warming feeling'. For my house, that meant siting two on opposite walls to get the full all around effect. One seemed ok, two really made the difference, but then the economics [or not] of purchase starts to take over.

Also, they are marketed as being able to help dry out damp walls. We tried one in our kitchen, which until recent work, had a damp wall. They do the job, the heat is directional enough to dry out the wall, but it obviously didn't solve the problem (didn't expect it would but was interested to see outcome), so that part is marketing rubbish.

Perhaps one downside is the lack of air movement, conventional heating systems cause air currents, and with panels we found corners of the room that stayed very cold, and invited mould growth, something not previously seen with convectors or before that old storage heaters.

iangec

Thanks for the feedback - very interesting.... we will see what they think I will need - If they think I want heating panels bolted to my ceiling or half way up a wall then I think they may be struggling - probably more sensible to spend the money on a wood burning stove....

And when you add into the mix that our all electric system is a wet system using normal radiators which has not been to expensive to run - how do they know they can save 45%?

Cardew

I think the best analogy is to compare these heaters with a desk reading light.

I can sit in a large unlit room and read a book with a low powered bulb in a desk lamp. No good for anyone else in the room, and if I move position in the room I have to take the lamp with me.

Similarly with these heaters they can 'beam' heat toward me if I am sitting at a desk; but no good for anyone else in the room.

They are particularly useful for sitting at a bench in an unheated garage, and years ago before CH was common, people would have them in an unheated bathroom.

However, you need to be very clear that they give out no more heat for the same running cost than any other electrical heater. The extract in post#3 is exactly the sort of misleading rubbish that we get time and again.

I suspect the OP might get a shock at their prices - I wonder if they will try the 20% off if you sign now, or perhaps 'if we can use you as a show house' etc etc