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How do infrared heating panels work?
Infrared rays emitted by infrared heating panels work on the same principle as the rays of the sun. They warm objects, people and walls, and only then the air. Conventional heating works on the opposite principle. How exactly do infrared heating panels work? We invite you to the next part of the article. In it, we will explain the details of how infrared heating works.
Conventional heating - main assumptions of operation
Traditional heating technology is based on the combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal, gas, oil or wood and its derivatives.
In the combustion process, water is heated, which is then transported through the installation to the radiators. The path that the heated water has to travel is also the first place where heat loss occurs. The water's walls and pipes absorb the temperature. Here, too, much depends on the quality of the installation and its tightness. If it is old or improperly laid, it can cause further losses of valuable heat.
Radiators heated by hot water heat the air. A wave of warm air rises towards the ceiling, then cooled down down the wall opposite to the radiator, it moves cool on the floor and returns to the radiator, where the whole process is repeated again. Most of the heat is generated under the ceiling and at the time of lifting from the radiator. People and objects around them are closer to the floor than the ceiling, so the heat that reaches them is low. This is a huge loss on thermal energy and related costs.
How do infrared heating panels work?
Each of us knows that pleasant feeling when we expose our face to the rays of the sun on a cold winter day, right? Despite the icy air, the face is pleasantly warm. If we move into the shade, the feeling of frost immediately returns. And yet the temperature in the sun and in the shade is practically the same. This is how the infrared wave emitted by the sun works and infrared heating panels work on the same principle.
Infrared heating panels emit electromagnetic waves in the range below the red color of the visible light. Hence the name of the rays - infrared (infra - from Latin below).
Infrared panels generate energy that heats, like the sun's rays on a winter's day, people and objects in the room, not the air. The air is heated in the second turn when both people and objects (walls, furniture, etc.) give off the heat they emit. This means that there are no losses caused by unnecessary heating of the air, the walls dry out, thus better insulating the building and de facto less power is needed to heat the room.
The air in the room can successfully stay cooler than the temperature needed to be heated by conventional means, as people and objects sense a higher range of heat.
What does this mean for residents?
People staying in rooms heated with infrared rays feel comfortable warmth, while maintaining cooler air. Lower air temperature also means higher humidity, which keeps the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes dry. Conventional heating dries the air, and therefore causes problems with the upper respiratory tract. For this reason, containers with water are often hung on radiators in apartments to restore the hygroscopic balance of the air.
Another difference in heating will immediately be noticed by allergy sufferers. Traditional heating is based on constant circulation and exchange of cool and warm air, which causes a cloud of harmful and allergenic dust.
Here, too, we will use the comparison with the sun. Heating with infrared panels does not move the air in the room, so it does not threaten allergy sufferers. The air remains comfortably cool and moist, but the walls receive heat and insulate against the cold from the outside.