Keep Warm This Winter Without Blowing Your Energy Budget; 5 Best Infrared Heating Systems

How to choose an infrared heater

The Definitive Buyer’s Guide

How To Choose An Infrared Heater

Infrared heaters use a different mechanism to heat you and your home. This comes with both advantages and disadvantages; different priorities. It’s worth knowing what you are looking for before walking into store. For example, many people may expect smaller, portable infrared heating models to serve as comprehensive heating systems. That’s not what they are intended for, and they simply don’t have the power to make it happen.

There are two major advantages to infrared heating systems over traditional convection heaters:
1) Energy efficiency; and
2) Speed of heating.

With these in mind, remember that it is almost always a matter of priority. If you need something a little more heavy-duty, you may have to sacrifice on portability. The good news is, generally speaking, infrared heaters use less energy to create the same amount of heat energy as a traditional convection and electric heaters.

How Do They Work?

Infrared heaters can be thought of as miniature suns in your home. Unlike convection heaters which rely upon warming up the air, which then rises and creates airflow over a period of time, infrared heaters work immediately. They heat objects directly by sending out infrared rays. Objects (like your body) absorb these rays as heat energy and become warm–like when we are standing in direct sunlight.

Since infrared systems heat objects directly, they not only take less time; they save on energy costs. It also allows you to be more specific with your heating system. Say you know you’ll be sitting on the couch for the next few hours. Many infrared heaters offer intensity settings. This means you can turn down the energy, and instead direct the heat straight at where you’re sitting. This way you don’t waste energy heating up the whole room (or house!) and you can feel the warmth right away.

Another advantage yet to be mentioned is noise. Many traditional and even electric heaters can be quite noisy. While you may not be disturbed by a loud heater when you’re watching TV, for spaces like the bedroom and bathroom, an infrared heater can be the perfect soundless option.

Are Infrared Heaters Safe?

A common concern is that infrared heaters pose some unnatural threat to your body and health. Let’s clear this up from the get-go: we’re not dealing with radioactive energy here. It isn’t even microwave energy (and we seem perfectly fine having these in our homes). Infrared rays are totally safe for everyday use. You won’t grow an extra head, nor will you be given any radioactive superpowers (a shame, I know!). The truth is, infrared heating is a pretty natural and normal way of heating objects–it’s only that we aren’t so used to talking about infrared heat, as opposed to traditional combustible heat sources.

Now that’s cleared up, we can actually talk about the safety concerns which go along with all heating systems. More importantly, we come to realize that infrared heaters actually offer some significant advantages to convection and electric heaters.

Since infrared heaters do not use up nearly as much energy, they don’t heat up as quickly or as much as other heating systems. The casings remain relatively cool and stable, even on the highest intensities. They also have a lower risk of overheating–which in turn leads to higher maintenance costs and safety issues of its own. According to the Infrared Heating website, ‘infrared heaters are one of the safest forms of heating sources.’ Convection heaters also require inflammable outer casings, since they do get quite hot. Infrared heaters have the added advantage of coming in many original wooden designs and casings–an aesthetic advantage for most homes over those chunky plastic heater casings.

This isn’t to say that infrared heaters don’t pose any safety dangers. As with any heating system, it’s not a good idea to leave it running on high while you’re out of the house. We’re still dealing with a mechanism that is designed to produce heat, and that means you’ll always be running some risk of fire–electrical, infrared, or otherwise.

Energy Costs

I’ve already mentioned that infrared heaters use less energy to heat you and your home, but I haven’t totally explained how they do this. There are three main means by which they achieve this:
1) By heating up objects directly, rather than the air in the room;
2) Infrared heat doesn’t escape through ventilation ducts or open doors; and
3) There are many entirely portable options, so that you can heat up your home room by room (without wasting energy on empty rooms).

The last point might be challenged by some modern electric heaters which are also impressively portable, but I will add to this the fact that infrared heaters are able to direct heat more efficiently. This also acts as a means of portability. You might be able to take an electric heater into your bedroom, but infrared heat can literally be directed at you in your bed. This is the main advantage of the infrared ray heating method–you can direct the heat with incredible accuracy.

All of these factors begin to add up over time. The great claim for infrared heating systems is that they can achieve the same level of heated comfort as traditional heaters for a fraction of the energy output. That means that 1kW convection heater will produce the same level of comfort as a 400W infrared heating panel. That’s a 60% saving on your energy bill—which can add up to make a serious difference over the winter months.

How Do Infrared Heaters Work?

Infrared heaters rely upon heating objects by waves of approximately 9 to 14 micron meters. These waves heat up particles in the atmosphere, along with any objects that they come into contact with directly: this heating up of particles in turn makes them move faster, surrounding your body with more energy and giving a nice comfortable warmth. Don’t worry: you don’t need to understand too much of the science. Just know that infrared heaters will heat you up quicker than convection heaters, and that they will save you energy while doing so. For more information on the mechanics of infrared heating, check this out: How Heaters Work and Are infrared heaters worth it

Are Infrared Heaters Safe To Leave Unattended?

Many infrared heaters come with useful in-built safety features that might have you thinking you can leave it on all day–whether you’re home or not. An example of this is the anti-tip safety feature. This will automatically turn your infrared heater off, if it tips past a certain angle. For carpet surfaces and other potentially hazardous floorings, this is a real lifesaver. Also for families with small children who are prone to bumping into things–the anti-tip feature is a worthwhile find. Add to that an electric timer (so that you can tell your heater to turn on or off during certain hours of the day) and it might be safe enough to leave your infrared heater unattended.
That being said, I like to err on the side of safety. Leaving any heating system on a high intensity while you are away from the house is a risk, in my mind, and I would generally advise against it.

Are Infrared Heaters Safe To Leave On Overnight?

I know how important this can be: those biting cold mornings are the hardest part of the day, and a heating system that can safely run overnight is a major advantage.
This is a somewhat different case to leaving them unattended in your home while you are out. What’s more, many infrared heating systems have automatic timers and safety features which don’t let the system run for longer than 12 hours at a time. So, if you were to turn it on a mild setting before bed, that would be perfectly fine–and that way you don’t need to wake up with freezing toes.