Can infrared heating panels heat a whole house?

Infrared panels can heat a whole house. They don’t have to be just to top-up inadequate central heating or for extensions. In fact, most of our customers who purchase infrared heaters use them to replace the system currently installed – be it storage heaters or wet/dry central heating. They are particularly useful for homes that are “off gas” (i.e. not on gas mains). The low wattage requirements of infrared compared with convection heaters makes it an attractive energy-saving heating solution.

Convection is where the room warms up due to the movement of hot air, such as through storage heaters and gas central heating systems. Convection only poorly transfers heat into the fabric of the building or objects in a room. So when the heater is turned off, the room cools down quickly. Infrared panels work by heating surfaces, building the thermal mass of the room by heating the walls, floors and other objects. These surfaces then build up energy and radiate back into the room, even when the heater switches off.  It is this principle that enables Infrared systems to have a lower initial wattage than convectors and also to run for less time.

Does infrared require the same wattage as convection?

If we take a living room measuring 4m x 4m, you would (depending on building construction etc) only need an infrared panel of around 1kW. However, to heat that room using convection, you would require a staggering 2.4kW – and you wouldn’t even feel warm as quickly!

How do you work out how much heaters cost to run?

To work out how much any heating costs, you need the wattage of the heater, the number of hours it is on for and the price in p/kWhs. So lets break this down into costs, taking 1kWh as 11p.

The infrared heating panel on for 5 hours would cost 55p (1kW x 5h x 11p/kWh)

The convection heater that would cost £1.32 (2.4kW x 5h x 11p/kWh)

55p compared with £1.32 to heat the same room!

Can you control the room temperature with infrared heating panels?

Infrared heating is not just a great primary heating source because of the efficiency and speed with which it warms a room, but also the control over time and temperature it gives you. You can link your panels to any number of thermostats to give you the ultimate room-by-room control within your property. We recommend one control per room, and in big rooms you may want two (as you may want to heat different areas differently.

Can infrared heaters heat a house? Not only can infrared be the primary heating source in a house, but it can do it using a fraction of the electricity. But it does need to be correctly specified. When it is, it makes the perfect solution for heating a whole house.

Types of Infrared panels for houses

Infrared heaters are available for all room types and uses: