Author Topic: Infra Red heating - the modern stuff  (Read 1026 times)

Infra Red heating - the modern stuff
« on: 10 November, 2023, 03:23:37 pm »
Anyone tried it.  These modern panels things that aren’t red.

Re: Infra Red heating - the modern stuff
« Reply #1 on: 10 November, 2023, 09:46:06 pm »
Problem I found with infra red is that it heats some targeted areas but not others. Therefore if mounted at height this results in hot head and cold feet. YMMV and current tech may be very different.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Re: Infra Red heating - the modern stuff
« Reply #2 on: 13 November, 2023, 04:33:30 pm »
Problem I found with infra red is that it heats some targeted areas but not others. Therefore if mounted at height this results in hot head and cold feet. YMMV and current tech may be very different.

Yes, the point of IR heating is that it directly heats surfaces (like your body) not the air - except indirectly as a result of radiated heat off warmed surfaces - so positioning the IR panel(s) needs careful thought. The other consideration is surface temperature, and whether the panel will come into contact with fingers and the such like and cause *ouchy melti-ness*  Some of them will be well over 100C surface temp'

HTFB

  • The Monkey and the Plywood Violin
Re: Infra Red heating - the modern stuff
« Reply #3 on: 13 November, 2023, 04:48:04 pm »
[opinionated]
If they're saving energy relative to a bar fire they're not heating anything much except you. So you may feel warmed but it's not doing much to keep the fabric of the building dry, and you're still breathing in cold air which won't be much good if you're struggling with a respiratory infection. Not that anybody is worried about those any more.

There's a reason people have stopped using bar fires in favour of panel heaters.
[/opinionated]
Not especially helpful or mature

Morat

  • I tried to HTFU but something went ping :(
Re: Infra Red heating - the modern stuff
« Reply #4 on: 19 November, 2023, 09:08:32 pm »
We tried infranomic heaters and my old place of work. They heat up the area in front of them and nowhere else. I can see them being useful for roasting residents at care homes where location is very predictable. Just point them at every Shackleton's high seat and you're done. They're absolutley not space heaters so they won't heat a whole room.
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fruitcake

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Re: Infra Red heating - the modern stuff
« Reply #5 on: 20 November, 2023, 08:45:43 pm »
I've recently bought a couple of infrared panels just to see if they're any good, and I figured I had nothing to lose. I think it's easy to get stuck in the 'central heating' paradigm, and nothing else works quite like central heating. The point about IR panels though is they provide comfort rather than heat. A bit like sitting beside an open fire can provide comfort without the thing warming the air very much.

I can report they're not burning hot to touch.

I reckon they could be good under a desk to keep legs warm during long periods of sitting e.g. at a computer workstation. I've seen designs that mount the panel on the underside of the desk pointing downward to achieve similar effect. I guess they could also be useful in the bathroom where people do silly things like removing their clothes and splashing water on their skin.

If used in domestic heating they'd need to be combined with other technologies such as micro-heating and dehumidifiers, in order to approach levels of comfort offered by central heating systems. Central heating systems might still be needed too, albeit running at a lower target temperature.

IR panels are new technology so there are no lifetime studies to show they're safe. Installing IR panels above a bed is specifically warned against, because of the risk of eye damage (for much the same reason we're told not to look at the sun). 

Re: Infra Red heating - the modern stuff
« Reply #6 on: 21 November, 2023, 06:03:34 pm »
I've recently bought a couple of infrared panels just to see if they're any good, and I figured I had nothing to lose. I think it's easy to get stuck in the 'central heating' paradigm, and nothing else works quite like central heating. The point about IR panels though is they provide comfort rather than heat. A bit like sitting beside an open fire can provide comfort without the thing warming the air very much.

I can report they're not burning hot to touch.

I reckon they could be good under a desk to keep legs warm during long periods of sitting e.g. at a computer workstation. I've seen designs that mount the panel on the underside of the desk pointing downward to achieve similar effect. I guess they could also be useful in the bathroom where people do silly things like removing their clothes and splashing water on their skin.

If used in domestic heating they'd need to be combined with other technologies such as micro-heating and dehumidifiers, in order to approach levels of comfort offered by central heating systems. Central heating systems might still be needed too, albeit running at a lower target temperature.

IR panels are new technology so there are no lifetime studies to show they're safe. Installing IR panels above a bed is specifically warned against, because of the risk of eye damage (for much the same reason we're told not to look at the sun).
Interesting.
Any chance of a link to the kit you've bought, please?