Infra Red Heating

[Chris Parks]

Has anyone here had any experience with this form of room heating?

[damian]

What do you want to know ?


It's not particularly efficient. Infra red is just the spectrum we recognise as heat. They are basically radiators. Fan heaters just add convection by forced air.


The big energy and cost saver is heat pumps, or air conditioners. A reverse cycle air con is by far the cheapest way to heat or cool a room, apart from ducting in desirable temp air from somewhere else (say a warm plant room for example).

[Chris Parks]

I am mainly interested in how it performs compared to other alternatives out there. I have heat pump wall units but Mrs P. is always complaining about the draught the fan creates so I came across some information on IR and I am now curious about it. Since posting I have had a chat with a company and they are going to drop off a demo unit for us to try for a week so I guess I will find out for myself. I have data logging on our electricity supply so I can see if the solar can supply enough to run it without buying from the grid on most days. If the solar can generally keep up with it then I am not really concerned about how efficient it is within reason.

[crowie]

G'Day Chris, The local Boys & Girls Club has a dozen of them around the hall [35mtrx20mtr] as winter heating for the gymnastics working on their skills this past 25yrs.
For the most they are okay for such a large space taking the chill off, though I can't speak to running costs.
Cheers Peter

[pintek]

Air movement is key - Have installed them in a few workshops by request and always had to go back and replace them with blow heaters.

Indoors - there are many better alternatives.
Outdoors - they work ok but they are like any outdoor heater; most of the heat is lost unless you are standing on them.

[Chris Parks]

We have had a demo heater in the house for a week now and all I can say is that it does what it says on the tin. The good part is it (weather permitting) costs us nothing to run as it is fed from the solar during the day and at night the heat built up in the structure and furnishings minimises the power we draw from the grid. By using the solar to in this manner we will get more value out of it than exporting it to the grid and the export number is dropping all the time.

[heffa]

Hey Chris
Sorry to drag this post back up but I'm curious how the IR heating has been going since.
I'm looking for a heater in my workshop and because of dust I'm considering the infrared option.
Are you still satisfied with its performance and efficiency?

[Chris Parks]

Hey Chris
Sorry to drag this post back up but I'm curious how the IR heating has been going since.
I'm looking for a heater in my workshop and because of dust I'm considering the infrared option.
Are you still satisfied with its performance and efficiency?

It works well with one major proviso, IR is not a system that you can turn on and feel instant warmth so if you are looking for a system you can use for a few hours in the shed I would not recommend it. I also found that their heat load calculations were off but the house design was responsible for that with unrecognised problems. For the house it works well, no draughts, no noise, good temp control.

[heffa]

It works well with one major proviso, IR is not a system that you can turn on and feel instant warmth so if you are looking for a system you can use for a few hours in the shed I would not recommend it. I also found that their heat load calculations were off but the house design was responsible for that with unrecognised problems. For the house it works well, no draughts, no noise, good temp control.

Awesomeness. Cheers 😊
I might give it a go, as I'm not too worried about instant heat. My workshop is a sealed and well insulated 2 car garage, so all I really need is to take the chill off. Half an hour of things warming up is fine

[Uncle Bob]

IR heaters don't heat the air directly. They heat organic and black bodies. Because of this you need to be fairly close to them because of Inverse Square Law, that is in a nutshell, the if you double the distance you will get half the radiation.

They are the go in open areas or draughty areas, a lot better in bathrooms than fan heaters. Also good over workbenches in sheds or outdoor areas.

[Chris Parks]

I like watching peoples face when they walk into our living area with no shoes on and feel the warm floor, it is like underfloor heating and they always comment on it.