Infrared Heating Panels And Their Eco-Friendly Credentials

Infrared heating technology represents a radical departure from traditional modes of heating in many areas, and none more so than its eco-friendliness.

Surya Heating is one of the UK’s leading purveyors of this up-to-the-minute form of heating technology, however, its benefits might be a mystery to you. So, here’s some information about IR heating and the way it’ll help you to help the environment.

Far Infrared Heating Panels

Far Infrared or FIR is a type of electromagnetism that produces heat rather than light, and has a wavelength of 15 micrometers (µm) to 1 mm (corresponding to a range of about 20 THz to 300 GHz).

Far Infrared has many applications from astronomy to human body detection, but it’s really taken off recently in the area of Infrared Panel Heaters for use in people’s homes and businesses.

Indeed, IR heating panels such as those supplied by Surya Heating, have taken homes by storm over this last year. This is because they're wonderfully stylish and discreet, as well as containing some impressive yet simple to use technology.

Surya’s IR heating panels really do tick all the boxes as regards ease of installation and their energy-efficiency, as well as actually being beneficial environmentally speaking. Incredibly simple to mount on a wall or ceiling, they can be customised to feature paintings or family portraits, and even masquerade as mirrors!

Wall or ceiling-mounting your IR heating panels is a fantastic way to make the most of your living space, completely eradicating the “dead space” that other types of heater traditionally occupied.

How Do They Work?

Their energy-efficiency and eco-friendliness can be attributed to the way in which IR heating panels actually work.

Unlike more traditional methods of home heating such as conventional convectors and fan heaters, infrared panels use their far infrared heat to heat the objects in the room directly, rather than the air around them. This is a very similar method to that employed by our own Sun, in that your walls, furniture and even your body is heated up directly.

During the process of natural heat dissipation from these solid objects, the rest of your room will also become warm at an even, consistent rate that you’ll find comfortable and never stuffy or humid.

Because of this evenness, you're much less likely to experience problems with mould growth, and you'll experience no cold spots as you would with traditional forms of radiant heating.

Due to the way IR panels work, you’ll discover that they’re ultra energy-efficient and, as a result, much more environmentally friendly than virtually all other types of heating for your home. It’s true that initially, you might spend slightly more on the panels themselves however, as demand for them inevitably increases, the cost to purchase them will drop.

IR Heating Panels vs. Conventional Heaters

When compared with more traditional types of heater, IR heating panels consume a great deal less energy. Measured in kW/h (Kilowatts per hour), the electrical energy required to power a regular electric fire is around 2.0 kW/h. Electric fan heaters also consume about 2.0 kW/h, while a standard convector and an oil-filled heater will consume slightly less at 1.0 to 1.5 kW/h.

By comparison, IR heating panels consume between 0.29 and 0.8 kW/h of electricity depending upon the size of the panel, with smaller panels such as a 595 x 595mm (350W) sized panel being at the lower end, and an 795 x 1195mm (900W) panel at the uppermost limit.

Increasing the energy-efficiency of your home often costs more money to begin with. However, in the case of IR heating panels, this capital outlay will be paid back in the form of reduced energy costs within a short space of time, as you’ll see from the table below:

So you see, if you can save an enormous £28.64 on your heating bill in just one month, your IR panel heater will have reimbursed your initial outlay in less than 6 months’ time. After that, it’s all pure savings!

Of course, the fact that IR heating panels reduce energy consumption and save you money in comparison with traditional forms of heating also has implications for the environment.

Reduce Your CO₂ Emissions

Thus, making improvements to your home’s energy-efficiency is also a great starting point from which to begin reducing your carbon emissions.

When used in combination with other waste-reducing measures such as installing low-power LED light bulbs and fittings, as well as effective insulation and draft-proofing, IR heating panels can help you to make an enormous dent in your CO₂ emissions and carbon footprint.

A great way to ensure your IR heating panel uses as little electricity as possible, thereby creating a smaller carbon footprint, is to control the heat it produces with an electronic thermostat.

If you have a programmable thermostat, you can set it to ensure that you don’t waste energy when you don’t need it.  You’ll be able to set them for different temperatures in different rooms, and they’ll switch off your IR panel heaters when the ambient temperature reaches a certain level.

Thus, your IR heating panels will continue to work until the temperature in the vicinity of your thermostat reaches the one you’ve programmed into it. This will reduce your energy-usage, but lowering this setting by just 1°C (1.8°F) more can typically reduce your heating use and therefore your carbon emissions still further, by as much as 10%.

100% Recyclable Materials

The materials used in Infrared heating panels are 100% recyclable. The surfaces are made from aluminium, which is also used for drinks cans, kitchenware and planes. Aluminium is fully recyclable, highly sustainable and can be recovered and recycled many times over. Approximately 75% of all aluminium produced in the US is still in use today, making it the most recycled material in America.

The frames that surround IR heating panels are also made from aluminium.

If You'd Like To Find Out More ...

If you’d like to discuss energy-efficient, eco-friendly IR heating panels, why not call one of our highly-trained customer service advisors on 0116 321 4124 today? They’ll be more than happy to take your orders and answer any questions about the various products we stock, as well as the benefits of Infrared heating.

You can also send us an e-mail enquiry to sales@suryaheating.co.uk, as well as liking our Facebook page and following us on Twitter.