Infrared heat has been around for a long time in the shape of muscle relaxing heat treatment lamps, but Mirrorstone Infrared Heating – a Leicester company, has developed the technology into an innovative range of energy-efficient Infrared Panel Heaters that look set to change the way that UK homes and businesses are heated.
Mirrorstone’s IR panel heaters are available in a wide range of sizes, from the most diminutive at 600 x 600mm, to the largest and most powerful 1000 x 1200mm/1200W model that’s capable of heating a large space measuring 60m3 (metres cubed).
Due to the fact that they’re so simply constructed and contain no moving parts, IR panels very rarely malfunction and require no maintenance throughout their 25 – 30-year lifespan.
They can be mounted easily on a wall or a ceiling by one person with a drill, a spirit level and an hour to spare. This makes them a very quick and convenient way to heat a room – a viable alternative to the long, arduous and expensive task of wiring up or plumbing in an entire central heating system.
As such, this emerging form of heating is now being adopted, not only by householders, but also by large construction companies, anxious to make their new-build homes as energy-efficient and space-saving as possible for the new breed of increasingly savvy consumer.
Indeed, at just 22mm thick, an IR panel heater will enable users to reclaim a considerable amount of space in their room, especially given that their predecessors were invariably cumbersome, wall-mounted electric storage heaters.
How Infrared Heating Works
As with any totally new form of technology, infrared heating has its detractors who claim it’s unsafe or that it’s not energy-efficient. However, the Far Infrared Waves emitted by IR panels are very similar to those emitted by the sun but without any of the harmful components like Ultraviolet (UV).
This makes infrared a particularly safe and natural form of heat, a fact that many health and yoga studios worldwide are using to benefit their patrons. Indeed, like sunlight, IR heats the objects in a room and not the air – exciting their molecules and causing them to vibrate and produce their own heat. This actually stimulates circulation and aids muscle repair, while the panel’s consistent infrared heat eradicates the damp stuffiness a convection heater would otherwise have caused.
Moisture-free and with a consistent temperature, the air in an IR-heated room will be a healthy alternative to the fluctuations and cold pockets created by convection and one in which mould and mildew will have no opportunity to thrive – good news indeed for those who suffer with respiratory issues!
Perhaps surprisingly, a room’s objects have a lot less molecular mass than its air, making it possible for the infrared panel to be switched off automatically when the temperature reaches a certain level. This means it will consume fewer units of electricity than a convection heater, thereby saving the user a considerable amount of money on their heating bills.
This short video gives a brief overview of the way IR panels work:
Types of IR Panel Available
IR panels aren’t just more convenient and practical than convection heaters, they’re also a great deal more aesthetically pleasing.
White IR panels can be secreted in a suspended ceiling where, disguised as regular tiles, they’re virtually undetectable, whereas eye-catching images can be printed directly onto the surface of custom panels, transforming them into attractive, dual-purpose pictures.
Sleek, minimalistic glass panel heaters are now being used in modern office complexes and, for bathrooms, mirrored panels are ideal because they never mist up, no matter how steamy the atmosphere becomes.
To find out more about infrared heating, call Mirrorstone Infrared Heating on 0116 436 2250 and visit the website at: www.mirrorstoneheating.co.uk
You can also check out the latest news from the world of IR heating on the Mirrorstone Facebook and Twitter social media pages.
