Welcome to the official website of the Hungarian manufacturer of electric infrared panels.
Infrared heating panels directly from the manufacturer. 25 years’ experience, first-class quality products, low prices, on-shelf availability of all products.
Site and exhibition room: 2 Kecskédi Street Oroszlány, Hungary
E-mail: info@suntherm.hu , info@suntherm-infra.hu
It is a revolutionary solution, yet we hardly know it. What can an infrared heating system provide?
When construction or modernisation of a heating system in a house or a flat is on the agenda, one will certainly be surprised at how many options are available for this. Newer and newer technical inventitions appear on the market almost each month, thus it is no wonder that there have only been a few words about infrared heating systems. But it seems that it is not only us who have avoided this topic; you can hardly find a householder who knows this undeservedly neglected solution for heating.
As always – as our regular readers have already got used to it – this article starts with an introduction, then we compare the infrared panels with other heating devices on the basis of several aspects.
Microclimate and comfort
These aspects were intentionally mentioned first, since these are the areas where the infrared heating system definitely beats any other recognised heating solutions. If there is something for which it is worth choosing the infrared heating system, it is surely the microclimate and the comfort. These characteristics make the whole system so likeable that, unprecedentedly, I cannot resist speaking about it in superlatives. Let’s see what has made me so enthusiastic.
When heating with infrared panels it feels as if a minor Sun shed its rays in each room. The Sun emits infrared radiation falling in a range which is invisible to our eyes. Therefore, we cannot see but feel the heat radiated from the Sun. Essentially, it is not the air in the atmosphere which is warmed up by the infrared radiation; it is the Earth and the organisms on it, as well as all objects capable of absorbing such heat. Then the absorbing surfaces will emit heat to the athmosphere, warming up the air by this. That is why the rays of the Sun appearing behind the clouds feel hot immediately without the warm-up of the surrounding air, since the human body can directly absorb the heat emitted by the Sun.
The infrared panels can produce the same infrared radiation artificially, by means of electricity . Thanks to this feature, you can not only enjoy comfortable temperature when switching on the panel , but it also has the same positive effect on your body as the Sun. Since the infrared panel warms up the surrounding objects (walls, furniture, organisms) to 80 % and the air to 20 %, the air does not circulate, nor does the dust in it. In addition, thanks to this operation, the air in the room is not dried as it is when heating with radiators and convectors. What is more, its operation is as good as unnoticeable; it runs without emitting any noice or odours.
Is it eco-friendly? Partly yes, partly not
The companies selling infrared panels all state that the infrared heating systems are entirely eco-friendly solutions for such systems do not emit harmful substances. Now this is the point where we had better get away little from the marketing texts as the above statement is true but there is a much more complex background behind. It is clear that the generation of electricity and its transmission to the place of consumption is not an eco-friendly process at all. It is also true that the infrared panels can utilise 100 % of the electricity , and no by-products are produced in the course of the heating process. It is sufficient for achieving a good rating for a specific building from the aspect of energy efficiency, however, from a global and strict point of view this is not what one can readily call environmental protection.
Should the electricity be produced by means of solar panels or by other means of eco-friendly technical solutions, it could be safely said that infrared heating is an eco-friendly solution.
Cost-effectiveness
In the case of infrared panels this topic gives self-appointed and real HVAC engineers, distributors and users a brilliant opportunity to go at it hammer and tongs. (And, of course, they do it whenever this issue is raised.) For the infrared heating is cost-effecive. As it has been mentioned above, the infrared panels run on electricity for heating. The amount of the power consumed and the power output are nearly the same.
The infrared panels also deviate from other heating devices from the aspect of use. By using it consciously and by scrapping our former heating practices or by adjusting them to the infrared heating mode, this system can ben operated in a cost-effecive way. What does it mean exactly?
First of all, in the case of infrared heating there is a considerable difference between the real temperature and the thermal comfort. One should not insist that the mercury column in the thermometer should reach the wished 22 to 24 °C (71.6 to 75.2 °F) since the infrared panels can provide the same thermal comfort at 19 to 20 °C (66.2 to 68 °F) as if it was warmer in the room. This is explained by the above-mentioned principle of operation, since in this case it is not the air in the room which is heated but the objects, organisms and walls. A situation deviating from the normal one arises, i.e. the walls are warmer than the air temperature, as well as the human body is also capable of absorbing the required amount of heat from the infrared rays.
The economy is also increased by the fact that it is simpler and more efficient to control infrared heating systems than heating systems with radiators and convectors. With its radiation similar to the Sun, this heating system can provide appropriate thermal comfort in no time, thus, when you are out, you can safely turn off the heating. If installed properly, an infrared heating system can warm up the rooms in 30 to 40 minutes. It means that if the infrared heating system runs a total of 6 hours per day and the electrical wiring required for this has been installed in the house or in the flat, the system can run on off-peak (night) electricity which is considerably cheaper than the price of electricity with full tariff. Therefore, the cost-effectiveness of the infrared heating system highly depends on the users’ consciousness.
How much does it cost?
Before the installation of the infrared panels it is recommended to have the heat demand of the specific building estimated, as the appropriate thermal comfort and the economical operation can only be achieved with a well-dimensioned system. The heat demand of the building must be determined by heat loss calculation, and on the basis of this value it can be determined how many and what capacity infrared panels should be installed. A more accurate statement can only be made after an on-site survey, which is performed by many companies free-of-charge!
All in all there is no doubt that it is worth considering the installation of an infrared heating system when modernisation or construction of a heating system in a new building are planned. If one cannot trust infrared panels but would like to test them, this heating solution can also be tried in one room. Is there anybody who does not want to feel the heat of the Sun sometimes even in winter?
