Wholesale infrared panel supply

Far Infrared is part of the electromagnetic spectrum and is one of three types of infrared. Of the three, Far Infrared is the only one which solely presents through heat rather than heat and light. Because of this, it is the most effective and efficient of the infrared wavelengths at heating an area and those within it.

Rather than a typical convection heater which uses fans to blow out hot air, Far Infrared emits the same ray as the sun (just without the UV) and this targets mass before air temperature. Because of this, it is much more fast acting than hot air as we are not waiting upon the hot air to circulate down to where we can feel it.

This also comes in useful for applications such as warehouses, factories or churches where there is a high ceiling void. A hot air blower system would send all of its produce to the rafters, heating the roof of the building rather than those on the floor. However, Far Infrared heaters target what is below them and are unaffected by draughts or high voids as their rays do not rise.

Because of its wavelength, far infrared passes through the air, travelling around molecules instead of colliding with them and heating them. Once, far infrared rays come into contact with a surface, they pass on their heat into this surface which begins to build what we call a ‘Thermal Store’. This store will retain heat until it can no longer hold any more, and then will gently emit this back into the area, essentially turning it into its own storage heater. This re-emittance means that even when the heating units are turned off, the room will continue to be warm for quite some time.

All of this means that our heaters can be much lower wattage because we are not having to power anything extra like fans, or buttons. All of our heaters are 98.5% electrically efficient, and because of the simplistic build, they are completely zero maintenance! No annual checks or maintenance needed and the Carbon Crystal element on the inside is made to last for around 100,000 hours of use at 24 hours a day with no breaks.

Yes! There are many reasons why Far Infrared is cheaper to run; the controllability, the type of heat they emit, maintenance and overall build of the panels all contribute.

As mentioned above, one main reason for cheaper running costs is the lower wattage of the panels. 98.5% of the electricity that the panels use is returned in the heat output. For other forms of heat such as storage heaters, these can be as low as 40%! This is because convection heaters work a lot harder to produce the same amount of heat. The process of producing heat is much more draining on the electricity through traditional methods as the heater is working to take in cold air, warm it up and then distribute it back out. Along with the fans, lights and buttons – this equal’s very little heat pay off for a lot of electricity!

Another reason that the infrared can save money is the type of heat that it produces. Far infrared remains in a property for much longer without dissipating or travelling in draughts. After a small amount of time of the infrared being exposed to an area, the initial heat up period will get less and less as the ‘Thermal Store’ is created. After a week or so the heaters are more used to top up the temperature again on top of the residual warmth already in the room. The infrared remains in the fabric of the room unlike convection heat which escapes very easily. This means that when using convection, it can take as much as an hour to heat up, whereas the infrared can heat rooms up as quickly as 5 minutes.

With the use of a controller, the panels will be switching on/off throughout the day to maintain the temperature of the room, meaning that even during ‘heating mode’ there will be times that the panels aren’t on. The controllers work by setting a desired temperature, the panels will then work to get the area up to that temperature. Once it is warm enough, the panels will then turn themselves off until the temperature falls a certain amount below the target temperature. In a recent test we conducted at a site we had installed, while the room was programmed to be at 22°C, the panels worked for around 7 minutes to get up to this temperature and the panels then turned off. From here, it took at least 40 minutes for the panels to turn back on again to top the heat up.

The heaters can be micromanaged so that only the required heaters are on at any given time. Usually, with most heating systems, there would be one central point that needs to be running to use any of the radiators in the building. Infrared on the other hand, can be programmed so that the controllers to areas are on at certain times and not in rooms that are not being occupied. The more controllers are utilised, the more they will reduce running times.

Far infrared panels are made in a very simple way. This means that unlike a lot of other forms of heating, there is no servicing needed at all. Most heating systems require annual checks and maintenance that can really add onto the cost of a system! Our infrared heaters are fit and forget with no moving parts, helping to give you peace of mind.

Quite often we come up against electric storage heaters, panel heaters and mid infrared orange glowing heaters. Convection heat works by warming up cold air in a room and distributing this back out into the space. This means that the heater works hard to warm the air up, especially on cold days and the heat is then lost through open windows and doors. Therefore, these heaters average around 2KW – 3KW which we would replace with around 900w of far infrared heating.

Mid infrared heaters are also popular. These are on the infrared spectrum but work on the visible end. This means that they produce a red glowing light and operate at around 1000°C. These heaters are often used in outdoor areas and are uncomfortably hot. From a distance, very little to no heat can be felt. This is because the mid infrared waves do not travel as long a distance as far infrared but is intense when someone is stood closer. Due to high operating temperatures, these heaters last a fraction of the time that far infrared heaters do because they are susceptible to blown bulbs.

Compared to the two above forms of heating, far infrared is cheaper to run, more aesthetically pleasing, more efficient and last much longer.