A common worry for people when looking to buy an electric heater is how much it will cost them to run. Usually electricity tariffs are higher than gas, but with the efficiency of infrared panels, this factor need not be a worry in your decision making. Infrared heaters convert almost 100% of the electricity they consume into heat, making them one of the most efficient heating solutions on the market. In particular, infrared panels can allow you to ‘zone’ your heating, a concept we will explain later in this blog. Infrared panel heaters are also incredibly useful for heating rooms that are hard to heat.
To give you a comprehensive insight into why infrared panels are so efficient, we will look at the way they are designed, how zoning works and give an overview of our range of infrared panel heaters.
Design of Infrared Panels
On first sight, infrared panels are stylish but at the same time, discreet. The panels get their lightweight and slim design from a sheet of aluminium on the front, and a steel rear plate. While other heaters, such as radiators, will use convection to some degree to warm a room, these panels only use infrared. The difference between infrared and convection heating is that convection heating heats the air within a space to raise temperatures; whereas infrared radiation only heats solid objects that it comes into contact with, which is a much more energy efficient process that’ll save you money on your electricity bill. If you’re apprehensive about the term ‘radiation’ then you needn’t worry, as the heat given off by infrared panels is the same as the warmth from a fire or the sun, although it lacks the harmful UV rays given off by sunlight.
Don’t just take our word for it. One of our suppliers, Herschel, have calculated that infrared panels only need on average 25 watts per meter3 for comfortable heating, whereas convection heaters need 40-45 watts per meter3 to achieve the same comfort levels. These infrared panels are also easy to set up: all that is needed is to mount the panels on the wall and then plug them into a socket. Full instructions are provided with your heater. If you would like your heater to be installed in a bathroom, or you prefer a more discreet fitting, then your panels will need to be fitted by a qualified electrician.
You can also control your infrared panel incredibly easily; we recommend that all customers fit their panel with a thermostat. These devices automatically control the heater to keep the room at the desired temperature of the user. When used with multiple thermostats, they also allow you to set each room a different to the rest of the house, a luxury you do not get with normal central heating.
How Zoning Works
The savvy people amongst us will see the potential for infrared panels to be used in a heating technique known as ‘zoning’. In rooms that are difficult to heat, often characterised by high ceilings, poor insulation and draughty areas, a few infrared panels can be placed strategically to heat the room in the most efficient way. They can cover the entire footprint of a room and act exactly like central heating, but with the key difference being a much higher level of efficiency and control. They can also be directed to heat busy parts of large rooms so money is not wasted by heating unoccupied spaces.
Zoning is an increasingly popular way of heating unique spaces such as church halls and corporate buildings, where there are often draughts and high ceilings – a heater using convection here would struggle to heat the space, but an infrared product is ideal for the job.
Our Selection of Infrared Panels
The Herschel Inspire is our flagship infrared panel heater. It comes in a range of sizes and you also have a choice of white or mirror finishes. Prices start from £309.99, but with these products you don’t necessarily have pay extra for it to be set up by a professional electrician. The Herschel Inspire is available in seven sizes between 250 watts and 1250 watts. We also stock the Herschel Select which starts at £209.99 and comes in the three sizes: 350 watts, 540 watts and 700 watts.
What next?
If after this you think that your home, office or business would benefit from an infrared panel heater then feel free to look over the selection on our website. Or alternatively, give one of our helpful sales team a call.