Infrared space heater
Infrared space heating is often considered one of the more controversial aspects of using heating systems in a home. Already, some people have claimed that the infrared oven for example, is more expensive than gas, while quite a few of them have claimed of cutting their energy bills by about 50%. These debates have resulted in an interesting discussion on infrared space heaters.
Features of infrared space heaters
- Normally, the heating is provided by infrared space heaters by a filament, which works as an emitting body. In cases of an electric operated infrared space heater, the use of a quartz tube, which is heat resistant, is important because of its insulating characteristics.
- A tungsten wire is normally used as the filament material. The filament material is probably the most important thing to be used in an infrared space heater as this is crucial to the heating aspect of the heater.
- The principle used in infrared space heaters is almost the same as the one used in electric bulbs. The only difference with infrared space heaters is that the heaters use infrared waves (Waves of short wavelengths) to get the desired heating.
Types of infrared space heaters
Normally, infrared space heaters are classified as Near Infrared, Medium Infrared and Far Infrared Heaters. This division is on the basis of the wavelengths used in each heater. For example, a Near Infrared Heater, also known as a NIR heater, works on temperatures more than 1800 degree Celsius. The temperature here is the working temperature of the filament.
Why infrared space heaters are preferred?
Infrared space heaters work on the principle of infrared rays converting to heat when they strike a solid object or a substance. This works differently than convection heaters. Thus, if you happened to sit in a cold room, you would still feel warm with an infrared space heater blaring at you. In a nutshell, infrared space heaters work for providing heat to a specific area, and may not really be used efficiently to provide heating to a full room.
That being said, some people use infrared heating for their rooms. In such cases, people would need to spend a lot of money to get these units installed, because to offer the kind of heat energy adequate for a room, you need a strong, industrial purpose infrared heater. One thing is for sure though – For the purpose it does, infrared space heaters help you save energy, as opposed to the use of convection heaters.
On purchasing an infrared space heater, the buyer needs to spend some time programming this equipment, in order to provide focused heat radiation on to a specific area. Secondly, these heaters are a bit expensive than the convection heaters for sure, but they work well if you need heat for a specific area and not the entire room.
With its demerits notwithstanding, people still choose to go with infrared space heaters because of the objective it achieves and most importantly, with the energy savings it provides.