When we look at heating our homes and offices in the UK, gas and hot water heating and bulky radiators in very room tends to come to mind first of all. Not many people think of infrared heating. It’s a tech that’s more often associated with bar fires and garden sheds or dusty old factory floors.
Actually, there are some great benefits to be had from switching to infrared in the home – the latest panels are great to look at, use low amounts of electricity, get you warm as soon as you switch them on and are supposed to be healthier for you.
According to Infrared Technologies:
“Infrared heating is beneficial for people with health conditions such as asthma or bronchial ailments. Its unique heating method does not create air currents that increase dust circulation in the room. It also prevents unwanted humidity that causes mould to grow.”
When you head out on a hot day, you can usually feel the immediate impact of the sun on your face and bare skin. This is infrared heating at its most natural. The rays from the sun hit your body and those light waves on the infrared spectrum warm you up. It’s different from the traditional convection heating you get with radiators which heat up the surrounding air.
Infrared acts on objects. That’s why you get the immediate feeling of warmth. For this reason alone, it takes a lot less time for you to get comfortable. With radiators you have to put them on for a while (sometimes a long while!) before the air heats up and the room actually begins to feel warm.
Cut Costs with Infrared
First of all, infrared heaters use less electricity and are therefore cheaper to run. Set your system up properly and you can pick and choose which heaters you have on in which rooms. So if you’re only using the lounge, that’s the only radiator you need on. This gives you a lot of power to maintain and reduce your energy usage even over the cold winter months.
And because infrared heaters warm you up immediately, you don’t have to worry about not having panels on around the rest of the house. Simply turn them on when you walk into a particular room and you get instant warmth.
Got Draughts? Infrared Doesn’t Care
When you have normal convection heating and you get a draught it can suddenly cool down a room and make it uncomfortable. With infrared you simply don’t get this problem. Remember, it heats up objects, not the air. That means you hardly notice it when someone opens a door and lets in the cold air from outside.
Health and Infrared
Because it works on objects, infrared can help reduce condensation and prevent problems such as damp. If you have a room that suffers from excess damp, an infrared panel can dry out the wall and stop it reoccurring. This is great news for old properties and even better news for people’s health. There is also some evidence that it’s great for people who have breathing issues or conditions such as asthma because you get less dust in the air.
It’s Reasonably Cheap
Compared to installing a new hot water heating system, heat pump system or biomass boiler, infrared is pretty cheap. Panels cost as little as £150 for a good quality smaller product and are simple to install. All you need is a plug socket or fused spur and a wall or ceiling to put it on. Panels are also low maintenance because they have no moving parts and good quality ones will last you well over 20 years! You can get ones that hook up to wireless thermostats and timers so you can have complete control of your heating.
Not Just for the Home
Many offices and businesses are now turning to infrared heating because it is more cost effective. Large offices can be a devil to heat properly especially when they have big open spaces. Infrared heating solves this issue and keeps the environment comfortable at a much lower cost. They also suit outdoor heating, patios, pubs, clubs and anywhere that requires quick and targeted heat. Because the infrared heaters heat people and objects like the sun and not the air, they are ideally suited to the outdoors, and what with being IP rated they will withstand all weathers.
Aesthetically Pleasing
Finally, infrared heating panels are great to look at. They take up less space compared to conventional radiators. You can fit them to the wall or ceiling and you can buy ones with designs on them. In other words, you can have an infrared panel that doubles as artwork. You can also get panels that can be used as mirrors.
If you want a heating technology that saves you money and looks great, then infrared heating panels are a very good option.
Take a look at how it works on our main site and find out how it can work for your home or office right now.
