If you are thinking about adding heating to your home, infrared heaters are a good solution. What are their main advantages and disadvantages? How can they be useful and why in rare cases it is not always the best option.
What is infrared heat
First, we have to understand what infrared heat is. Think back to how it feels when you go out to the beach in the summer and feel the heat all over your skin. It is a combination of infrared and ultraviolet rays, with infrared keeping us warm and ultraviolet being more harmful to our health.
Infrared heaters work by converting energy into radiant heat. Infrared radiation travels in a straight line and is absorbed by the air. This means that it heats the objects it encounters, which also heats the air itself.
Pros of infrared heaters
The main advantages of such heaters include:
- Instant heat
Infrared devices heat the place in front of them almost instantly, delivering heat in as little as 30 seconds. The air in front heats up quickly, as the energy is immediately converted into parts of the heat. In contrast, convection heaters take a little longer to heat the room. This is because they use cooler ambient air, heating it along the coils as it rises and releasing it back into the room.
- Quiet and efficient operation
Infrared heaters are quiet and offer excellent energy efficiency. This makes them ideal, particularly for bedrooms. Traditional gas radiators can be particularly noisy because of the movement of the water, the clicking of the pipes, and the sound of the radiator heating itself.
- Health Benefits
Because of the lack of air movement, infrared heaters can be good for your health. Humidity levels do not change compared to forced ventilation systems and heat fans. Therefore, there is no need to add humidifiers.
In addition, these heaters are great for zone heating, work without pollution and air, are completely environmentally friendly and practical, requiring minimal care and maintenance.
Disadvantages of infrared heaters
Infrared heat spreads in a straight line, and the heat generated is very high. It is important that there are no unnecessary objects around the infrared heater. This also makes them a potential hazard if you have small children and pets.
While ultraviolet rays do cause the most damage to your health, prolonged exposure to infrared radiation can also be harmful to your eyes and skin. If you sit too close to an infrared heater, you can get pigmented spots on your skin, for example.
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