Infrared Heaters

[Danaman]

Does anyone have any experience with these types of heaters. They claim they are 40% more efficient than the regular baseboard heaters thus using less power.My question is how efficient do they work and do they use a lot less power as they claim. I was thinking of using in the rec room as a supplememtal heat. House has a gas furnace.Comments please.

Here is a link to the heaters http://www.costco.ca/Dynamic-Infrared-Quartz-Heater.product.10395019.html

[bj66]

I have 2 of them. Both are different brands. I guess I never looked at the electricity bills etc. to see how much they cost to operate in my old house. I liked them because they were a pretty safe heating solution. A lot of the portable heaters I would not want to leave the room unattended with them. I used one of these in my old house's bedroom and never worried about it at all. My bedroom needed better ducting, and this was a good temporary fix.

[Barrycuda]

I have seen them in a home that I was treating the home owner. They had 2. Idk what brand, but seemed to work fine and produced some nice heat, without any excess noise or odor.That said...there are some people that seem to have pros and cons. As always, one persons pro is another persons con. Found this link that may shed some light on helping you make a decision. If you can, before purchasing, see what the return policies are and the time you have.

 

http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11658672/golden-designs-inc-dynamic-infrared-quartz-heater-reviews/reviews.htm.

[MiCarl]

I haven't used one but have this observation:

 

It's 1,500 watts. That's about the same as most hand held blow dryers. It's not going to heat a whole room very much and it'll take awhile to do it. I used to use a 1500 watt heater in a 10x10 office in my old shop. It took a couple hours to warm the room from 50 degrees to comfortable enough to take the coat off.

 

Being infrared though if you aim it at you it'll probably feel warm on your body fairly quickly.

 

By the way, you're not likely to find one bigger than 1500 watts. That's about the limit for a standard residential circuit.

[Snaggletooth]

I've used two of them with good results. I had one in the warehouse at my work station. Stayed pretty chilly in there during the winter months. It kept me warm when within 6 to 8 feet of it. Past that........nada. But that's the nature of the thing. It ain't a room heater.

 

(It also warmed up pizza real nice if ya tipped it back a bit)

 

The other one stays down in my basement shop. I don't vent heat down there during the winter so I fire up the lil heater near my workbench. Works fine for me. I never noticed any change in my bill but for a couple hours a night it was a low cost answer rather than warming the whole basement.

 

Mike

[MikeWa]

True infra-red is radiant and heats objects not the air. So point it at something you want warmed up. Like you. That said some units will have a ceramic element inside that gets warm and so also provides some convection heat. Either system or combination has it's advantages. Radiant infra-red can lower heating bills by keeping you warmed up while the rest of the room stays a little cooler. Means you can lower the thermostat to save money. The true efficiency of this is a personal choice.

 

Mike

[Guest tx2sturgis]

All electric space heaters are around 99.9% efficient anyway.

 

1500 watts consumed equates to about 5200 btu, more or less.

 

This is a constant for every electric space heater regardless of what you see in a catalog.

 

A $19 heater thats rated at 1500 watts will heat up a room just as quickly, or not, as a $200 or $300 heater thats also rated at 1500 watts. They will both make an equal impact on the electric bill.

 

1500 watts is 1500 watts. Period.

 

A more expensive heater might be quieter, or have a better thermostat, or have less 'hot spots' on the cabinet...or simply look better in the room.

 

I love the marketing these guys do, it makes you spend money...

 

 

 

[winston66]

 

Winston66,

I do not know what parameters are important to you guys over there.

For me when considering this sort of thing, and everything else being equal,

I consider that efficency Ie. operating cost versus heat output to be the important thing to consider.

That said here in Australia Inverter type of split airconditioners (the reverse cycle type) which have a dual heating and cooling function are the most efficient operating cost wise of any type of system that is readily available.

For instance when considered that they work and act as a heat pump their efficency for the heat or cooling that they put out, they are about 100% more efficent than the old fashoned radiant infared type of electrical resistance heater.

This coupled with the fact that the main motor unit is isolated outside the building and that the air cooling and circulation unit is fixed inside the room and the only noise is from the small and very quiet air circulation fan, most of the time you can not even hear the system operating.

The only con that I can think of is that it is a fixed installation and can not be moved around and that it will cost considerably more initally than the moveable style that you are considering.

I can only suggest that you do the sums and compare the heat output/running cost over the estimated life of the system that you are wanting to use.

I hope that this does not confuse,

Cheers Winston 66 Northampton, Australia

 

[winston66]

Winston66,

Please check the maths as quoted in the advertisement.

There is a balls up in their computations as regards how they calculate the room sizes when they convert from sq feet to sq yards and I think that they very carefully omit to tell any prospecrive customer what the relative heat output is as a ratio or conversion of electricity used to heat produced in the standard of the yardstick of BTU's. So as to give a client some idea of what is happening.

Cheers to all.

Winston66 Northampton , Western Australia

[winston66]

Winston66,

The computations that I am talking about are the ones that the advertiser uses when the FAQ question and answer section is accessed from the main advertisement.

Cheers to all,

Winston66 ,Northampton Western Australia

[dacheedah]

Agree with Brian, I was researching this for my garage and found that if it's electric x watts gets you x heat, anything new and electric have about 99% efficiency.

[Danaman]

Thanks I appreciate all of your comments.

[1rooster]

I have gas heat and I use 2 Edenpure heaters.3 years ago my gas bill was $1100 for the winter.The last 2 years I used $400 in gas and my electric bill was $20 more per month with the 2 heaters running for the 4 coldest months.4 months at $20 =$80 and $400 in gas for the 4 months verses $1100=$700 savings and the house stays cozy warm 72 degrees.you do the math.Works for me.

[cb1313]

I have a well insulated 1600 sq ft shop. I use 2 halogin work lights when I do projects in the shop. One in front and one in back of my project. They are are the kind with 2 large hal. lights and the stands go up and down depending on what I am doing. Lowes/home depot type. It keeps the area warm and sure lights up the project.

 

cb

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Just FYI:

 

Most of the claims that are made concerning the electric room heaters are based on the practice of using that heater to heat one room, to a cozy temp, and not running the main house furnace, trying to heat rooms that aren't occupied. It CAN save you money, but dont expect to heat a whole house in mid-winter with one little electric space heater for $20 a month.

 

Also, efficiency ratings are NOT the same as dollars spent per btu.

 

Gas, oil, and propane heating are generally less expensive per 1000 btu generated.

 

Heat pumps are actually MORE than 100% efficient, so they can make a difference in your heating bill, but the initial capital outlay is high.

 

Those are all facts, as my previous post was also fact.

 

Now, here is an opinion:

 

One of the best bangs for the buck in electric space heating is the stand-up, large steel fins, oil filled, radiant heaters that cost in the range of $40 to $60 here in the USA....probably a bit more in Canada.

 

They are safe, silent, pet and child friendly, and have no ability to set anything on fire. (within reason)

 

Most of them have dual heat settings, such as 750 watts on low and 1500 on high. These heaters will last practically forever, since they have nothing to wear out, no motors, and the elements are submerged in oil which keeps them from reaching a temperature that could catch things on fire.

 

The best way to heat a room with them is to use two of them, one on each side of the room, with one preferably under a window, unless there are low hanging curtains. Set them on LOW, with the thermostat in about the same range. Now the current demands per outlet are halved, which is much safer, and they will evenly heat the room. Dont try to run them both on HIGH if both outlets are served by the same circuit breaker.

 

They take a several minutes to heat up, but they put out some nice warmth.

 

Ok...back to the regularly scheduled programming!

 

 

 

 

[First_N_Last]

All electric space heaters are around 99.9% efficient anyway.

 

1500 watts consumed equates to about 5200 btu, more or less.

 

This is a constant for every electric space heater regardless of what you see in a catalog.

 

A $19 heater thats rated at 1500 watts will heat up a room just as quickly, or not, as a $200 or $300 heater thats also rated at 1500 watts. They will both make an equal impact on the electric bill.

 

1500 watts is 1500 watts. Period.

 

A more expensive heater might be quieter, or have a better thermostat, or have less 'hot spots' on the cabinet...or simply look better in the room.

 

I love the marketing these guys do, it makes you spend money...

 

 

 

 

Brian;

 

I'm right there with you. Watts is watts.... inefficiency in an electrical device is almost entirely heat, so electric heaters are efficient. Weird to think about it that way though.

[First_N_Last]

Does anyone have any experience with these types of heaters. They claim they are 40% more efficient than the regular baseboard heaters thus using less power.My question is how efficient do they work and do they use a lot less power as they claim. I was thinking of using in the rec room as a supplememtal heat. House has a gas furnace.Comments please.

Here is a link to the heaters http://www.costco.ca/Dynamic-Infrared-Quartz-Heater.product.10395019.html

 

Hi Danaman;

 

Here is my opinion...

 

An infrared heater, as others have said, can be aimed at the area which you want to feel heat (your self, etc.). However you will still have a cold draft at your feet.

 

For maximum comfort I agree with TX2Sturgis (I use these)...

-----------------------------------------------------

"Now, here is an opinion:

 

One of the best bangs for the buck in electric space heating is the stand-up, large steel fins, oil filled, radiant heaters that cost in the range of $40 to $60 here in the USA....probably a bit more in Canada.

 

They are safe, silent, pet and child friendly, and have no ability to set anything on fire. (within reason)

 

Most of them have dual heat settings, such as 750 watts on low and 1500 on high. These heaters will last practically forever, since they have nothing to wear out, no motors, and the elements are submerged in oil which keeps them from reaching a temperature that could catch things on fire.

 

The best way to heat a room with them is to use two of them, one on each side of the room, with one preferably under a window, unless there are low hanging curtains. Set them on LOW, with the thermostat in about the same range. Now the current demands per outlet are halved, which is much safer, and they will evenly heat the room. Dont try to run them both on HIGH if both outlets are served by the same circuit breaker.

 

They take a several minutes to heat up, but they put out some nice warmth."

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Brian;

 

I'm right there with you. Watts is watts.... inefficiency in an electrical device is almost entirely heat, so electric heaters are efficient. Weird to think about it that way though.

 

 

Yeah, its the 'waste' that makes something like this 'inefficient', from a technical basis, not the cost per hour of operation. Thats where the marketing types get to have a bit of wiggle-room when advertising those expensive little space heaters. Because so many home furnaces are sending some 'waste-heat' up the vent stack, and as a result, are technically not 100% efficient, they get to advertise that their little infrared space heaters are more efficient. And they arent lying. They never seem to compare them to OTHER space heaters though.

 

But in most places, its cheaper to use gas, or oil, or propane, to heat a whole house than to try to heat the same entire house using electric resistance (or electric 'infrared') heating. But just heating one or two rooms with resistance heating can save a few dollars.

 

If the OP had been asking about heating a large shop or a remote mountain cabin, of course, the answer would have been different, but he did ask about a rec room, and already has gas heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2012 by tx2sturgis

[RandyR]

I'm also a proponent of the finned oil-filled radiator electric heaters. After 6-7 years of constant repairs to my central unit I bought a couple of these radiators and couldn't be happier. One in the living/dining area, one in my bedroom, and one for downstairs (used sparingly). I close off the small bedroom and den upstairs when not in use. Been using them for over 10 years. If it gets real cold I fire up a small fan driven heat cube to add to the mix.

 

I also keep a small kerosene heater ready should I lose power, which usually happens when I need heat the most. I have buried power cables, so usually my electric is never off more than a few hours. Rarely a full day. But modern furnaces require electric to run. Makes me wonder about the old-style steam heat radiator systems. I don't think they required electric. I often wonder how efficient they were?

[Flyinfool]

One other important point that no one has mentioned yet.

With infrared (IR) heat most of the energy goes into the the infrared radiation and much less goes toward directly heating the air. The infrared radiation then heats the objects that it hits. If that is you, then you will feel the heat. If it is an object in the room then that object will warm up. that warm object will still heat the air. Because of this, none of the energy is wasted, it all still turns to heat in the room somewhere and the net effect is the same.

 

BUT, and there is always a BUT.

Some things do not heat well with IR, like a mirror, or glass to name a couple, the mirror will reflect the heat and that reflection will then get the heat, so all is still good. Glass on the other hand is transparent to IR, this means that all of your IR energy that finds a window will be perfectly happy to go right thru the glass and heat whatever it hits outside. This is now wasted energy. With IR you need to be sure that it is not able to look out any windows. (unless of course you are trying to warm up your neighborhood)

 

Energy is an interesting thing, it is always there, everywhere, it can not be created nor can it be destroyed. You can change the form of energy, you can direct it, you can move it, you can store it. But you can not create it, or destroy it, its still always there.

[dacheedah]

When we rebuilt our house we turn the temp down to 60 in the day, goes up to 68 at 3pm, back to 60 at 10pm in most of the house and use a direct vent gas fireplace in our bedroom just to heat the bedroom at night. That way we only heat what we are actually using.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

 

Energy is an interesting thing, it is always there, everywhere, it can not be created nor can it be destroyed. You can change the form of energy, you can direct it, you can move it, you can store it. But you can not create it, or destroy it, its still always there.

 

 

You must have had young children around your house lately.

 

[Flyinfool]

You must have had young children around your house lately.

 

 

No young children, even the grand kids are getting old, but I do have a young Springer Spaniel.........

[MiCarl]

Something I just stumbled across. At a quick glance it appears to say using a radiant space heater might not save any $$ if your regular heat is gas.

 

http://www.osceolaelectric.com/Energy_Center/Quartz_Heaters/index.html

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Sure was nice to see them explain it in a similar way as I did:

 

 

http://www.osceolaelectric.com/Energy_Center/Portable_Electric_Heaters/index.html

 

There is a slight loss in effiency...very slight, if the heater uses a fan or if any part of the heater emits visible light. That is why I stated 99.9%...which is close enough thats its about the same as the 100% figure they gave.