How infrared heating works: is it convenient?

Infrared heating is based on so-called radiation or heat wave technology and is technically one of the most cost-effective electric heater system. With an optimally controlled infrared heater, cost savings of up to 50 percent can be achieved compared to conventional heating systems. Plus with minimal preheating times which also offer excellent user comfort.

Even visually, our infrared lamps are an attractive and elegant alternative to the usually simple radiators. This means that infrared heating is not only a heat source, but also becomes a piece of furniture. It can also be used in outdoor environments such as balconies or terraces.

In principle, an infrared heater can be said to work with two different types of heat. First, there’s the direct radiant heat from the infrared heater, which can be clearly felt at a distance of three to four meters. Secondly, an infrared heater has indirect ambient heat which is returned by the walls and furniture. Infrared rays ensure a particularly pleasant room climate and have a positive effect on people.

How infrared heating works

To clarify how infrared heating works, the breakdown of the component word “infra” is helpful. “Infra” comes from the Latin and can be translated as “below” or “beyond”. Consequently, infrared pertains to electromagnetic radiation that is below the red end of the visible light spectrum. That is, a wavelength range between about 780 and one million nanometers that is no longer perceptible to the human eye.

To put that into perspective: A nanometer is 70,000 times thinner than a human hair. Infrared heat rays are therefore invisible, but can be perceived by human skin sensors. Because the infrared heat waves of an infrared heater have the property of heating the material when it hits it. The heat waves from an infrared heater are transmitted directly to the human body and other solid and liquid materials in the room. They do not require air as a medium of transport, as is the case with other heating systems. The solid and liquid bodies present in the room absorb the thermal radiation and then emit it again.

The radiation exchange takes place through the emission of heat, so that all bodies in the room are heated evenly by the infrared heater. At the same time, the air in the room passes over the heated bodies and heats itself without having to consume additional energy.

The difference between an infrared heater and conventional heating systems

Current heating systems generate heat by heating the air in a room, also known as convection heat. In most cases fossil fuels such as oil or gas are burned. Ultimately, air that has been warmed up should warm people. But since the warm air rises from the radiator, there is a permanent circulation of the air in the room: warm air rises, cold air falls. So it’s always warm on the ceiling first.

Also, conventional heating systems are water based. The water is heated in a central location and then transported via a long branching pipe system to the radiators in the individual rooms. This results in a high energy loss. Dust is raised, the room air becomes dry, mold growth is promoted and overall this does not lead to a particularly pleasant room climate.

Infrared heaters, on the other hand, generate radiant heat, which is completely comparable to the effect of the sun. Infrared lamps heat people, walls and furnishings directly, and walls as surrounding surfaces give off heat to the environment. This creates a very pleasant room climate like a fireplace. The infrared radiation emitted by the heaters not only heats the skin on the surface, as is the case with conventional heating, but also penetrates deeper into the skin.

The fact that the fuels needed to power conventional heating systems, such as oil and gas, are running out, thus becoming increasingly expensive, and at some point virtually unaffordable should also play a central role in comparative thinking.

Technology and efficiency

The efficiency of infrared heating depends on the intensity of the radiation and is at least 86%. For comparison: With most modern oil or gas heating systems, the radiation intensity is between 60 and a maximum of 80 percent. This means that with infrared heating, at least 86 percent of the energy used is converted into heat, with very little energy loss.

Depending on the area of ​​application, there are different intensities of infrared heaters. Infrared lamps mounted on ceilings or walls are mainly used to heat individual rooms in closed buildings. For outdoor areas to be heated, such as open-air bars, open-air restaurants or hotels, infrared heaters with medium-short wave rays are preferred because the thermal effect of these rays is greater and they generate more heat in a room colder.

Ambient temperatures have no influence on the thermal effect of infrared heating, as the heat is not transported through the air, but has a direct effect on people via thermal radiation.

 Immediate heating

As soon as you turn on the infrared lamp, the heat is immediate. In general it can be said that a room without furniture takes a little longer to heat up than furnished rooms. However, infrared heating can maintain the desired room temperature constant with significantly lower energy consumption.

To shed light on the effectiveness of infrared heating, the fundamental difference between conventional heating systems and infrared heating needs to be emphasized again. Infrared heating heats surfaces such as walls, ceilings, floors and furniture and ensures that they are warmer than the air in the room. Exactly the opposite is the case with conventional heating systems, which only heat the air in the room, while walls, floors, ceilings and furniture remain cold.

An infrared heater heats solid materials and uses them as heat storage. The bathroom, as an environment not used continuously, should not be kept at a constant temperature throughout the day. In an empty room, the heating effect of an infrared heater can decrease because there is nothing to absorb the heat generated. Conversely, this means that the heating efficiency of an infrared heater increases dramatically the more objects there are in a room. In conclusion, infrared heating is a reasonable alternative to conventional heating systems. If infrared heating is used correctly, there are benefits in terms of energy consumption, cost and carbon footprint.