FAR INFRARED HEATING…
the benefits of sunshine – indoors!
Welcome to InfraredHeat.ca! We hope you’ll learn something new, or perhaps just reinforce what you’ve already begun learning about. Either way, we’re glad you’re here, and we welcome you to the world of far infrared heating, where you’re warmed by the exact same method that sunshine warms you… only comfortably, efficiently and effectively with absolutely no harmful effects. Far infrared “light” is good for you!
Far infrared radiant heating panels from Spectrum Infrared are energy efficient, healthy and cost-effective. Far infrared radiant heating panels heat objects such as floors, walls and furniture, and not the air. Because they do not heat the air… people and animals experience comfortable warmth via radiant heat. There is just no other heat source like it, with the exception of the sun itself. Far infrared heat literally feels like being in sunshine but in the comfort of your home, office or any indoor space.
Some further advantages with using far infrared radiant heating, beyond “just” the energy savings and efficiency –
If you heat a bathroom with a far infrared radiant panel, it will inhibit mold growth in the bathroom! A bathroom heated with far infrared panels will warm a tile or slate floor similar to that of having in-floor heating, but without the high installation costs and also providing much better effectiveness and efficiency than in-floor heating provides.
Far-infrared radiant heat is by far the most efficient and healthy heating method available on the market today, in its price range. Traditional gas-fired forced air and oil-burning heating systems operate through an antiquated combustion process that emit harmful pollutants and exhaust into the environment.
Our far infrared radiant heating systems operate free from harmful combustion processes; provide simple and direct radiant energy without any of the traditional heating methods’ waste and pollution.
Typical energy savings over traditional heating methods range from 15 to 50% (Depending on placement and building conditions). The far infrared heating panels are fully compatible with renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind-power.
Si Series far infrared radiant heating panels have NO moving parts, and are expected to last more than 30 years! They never degrade in far infrared output, and because they are not made with any ceramic elements, they operate in much colder conditions, too.
Our far infrared radiant heaters are maintenance free… for life!
Si Series Aluminum far infrared heating panels come in three sizes:
- 2′ x 2′ @ 400 watts
- 2′ x 4′ @ 800 watts
- 41″ x 41″ @ 1100 watts
Our Si Series Glass far infrared heating panels come in four sizes:
- 16″ x 48″ @ 500 watts
- 24″ x 48″ @ 800 watts
- 16″ x 72″ @ 800 watts
- 24″ x 72″ @ 1100 watts
HOW MUCH DO THE PANELS COST TO RUN?
FIND OUT WITH OUR CONSUMPTION CALCULATOR
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EFFICIENT
Far infrared radiant heating panels heat objects such as floors, walls, and furniture (not the air) which makes them a far more efficient heating system.
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COST EFFECTIVE
Typical energy savings over traditional heating methods range from 15 to 50% (depending on panel placement and building conditions).
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HEALTHY
Traditional gas-fired forced air and oil-burning heating systems operate through an antiquated combustion process that emit harmful pollutants and exhaust into the environment.
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NATURAL WARMTH
Far infrared heat literally feels like being in the sunshine but in the comfort of your home, office, or any indoor space.
It’s hard to narrow down just a few “frequently” asked questions, so we’ve noted just a few common ones below, and you’ll find a much more extensive list on our FAQ Page.
We hope our website provides a useful resource to learn more about the absolute best method of heating your space in terms of purchase costs, effectiveness and efficiency.
Have a great experience you would like to share? We would love to hear about it!
How does far infrared heat actually work?
Here’s a common way we use to describe what’s actually going on…
Far infrared heating (indoors) consists primarily of two parts:
Part 1) Is the immediate effect of feeling the infrared heat directly from the panel(s). Once the surface temperature of the panels reaches 90-95 degrees Celsius, they are then emitting their full far infrared, and will continue to do so until they are turned off (usually by a thermostat). This “immediate effect” is felt within about 10 minutes of turning the panels on by people and animals (because we’re water-based), which is about the time it takes the panel to warm up to 90-95 degrees. Again, this is immediately felt if you were to walk into a room heated with far infrared, or if you turned on panels and waited for them to warm up. Remember, far infrared invisible light does NOT heat the air at all, but you certainly feel the warmth!
Part 2) After time, the floor, walls, furniture etc. will warm up from the far infrared light, and in turn those objects will radiate heat (hence the name “Radiant Heat” or “Radiant Heating”) into the space, and THAT is what warms the air in the space.
- Part 1 – Is the immediate warmth felt (directly) from the panels themselves.
- Part 2 – Is the “radiant heat” aspect of far infrared by warming the floor, walls, objects and people and then (indirectly) the air in the space.
- Part 2 takes considerably longer to occur than Part 1.
One thing worthy of note, you will not require the air temperature in the space to be as warm as you’d normally have it with regular convection heat, or even any other electric heat. Whenever the panels are powered on, you will feel much warmer than the air temperature indicates, and why we always recommend that our hot yoga clients’ ensure their panels are “on” during classes. If they turn off, it feels like the sun has gone behind a cloud…it’s still warm, but not “hot”!
Can I decorate the Panels myself?
We do not recommend painting our Si Series panels.
Is there a difference in energy consumption between ceiling and wall placement?
Place the panel on the ceiling wherever possible for optimal heat distribution and lower energy consumption. In a radiant ceiling system, 80% of the energy is converted to Infrared, 60% for radiant wall-mounted systems and 50% for radiant in-floor systems. The dynamic efficiency of hot air systems (gas furnace and ducts) in comparison, is only around 35%.
Are 240 volt far infrared panels better than using 120 volt far infrared panels?
The short answer is “no”, but the longer answer bears some consideration.
240 volt far infrared panels are not more efficient, nor are they more effective than 120 volt far infrared panels…despite rumours abounding that they are. A watt is a watt, regardless whether it is being delivered by 240 volts or 120 volts.
In other words, an 1100 watt panel at 240 volts will use almost exactly the same amount of power (1000 watts), as a 120 volt panel.
Where the voltage DOES come into play is with respect to the amperage, and this can matter for a few reasons.
Let’s walk through the power being delivered to your home. Most modern homes have 200 amp service, or perhaps only 100 amp service available at the breaker panel. That means that you have a total capacity (in theory) of 200 amps available, or perhaps only 100 amps.
Inside the breaker panel are (wait for it) breakers! These breakers control lights, outlets, appliances…all things electric in other words. Most single breakers in the home are 15 amp breakers. The general rule of thumb for breakers is to not utilize more than 80% of capacity, so despite having a 15 amp breaker on a circuit, you should aim for actually only using no more than 12 amps of the 15 amps “available”. Not a good thing to utilize the full breaker capacity!
A 120 volt breaker is a single pole breaker that fits only into a single slot in your breaker panel, and that can only deliver 120 volts.
A 120 volt far infrared panel uses double the amps that a 240 volt far infrared panel does, however.
This matters, particularly when using more than one infrared panel in a space. As an example – A single 120 volt Si Series far infrared panel at 1100 watts will draw 9.16 amps, as opposed to a single 240 volt Si Series far infrared panel at 1100 watts will draw only 4.58 amps.
Why do we care? As noted above, most 120 volt house circuits utilize a 15 amp “single pole” breaker. On the other hand, you MAY have 20 amp breakers in your panel. If you wished to use two of these 120 volt panels in a room, they would HAVE to be on separate circuits (using two separate single pole breakers) because the total amps being drawn for the two 120 volt panels is over 18 amps…well beyond the 15 amp circuit capacity, and even more beyond the suggested limit of 80% of capacity at 12 amps, and the breaker would therefore be tripping constantly….not good! If you have a 20 amp breaker however, then you indeed have the ability to put two smaller infrared panels on the same 120 volt circuit.
The solution is to use 240 volt far infrared panels. You can deliver 240 volts to any circuit by using “double pole” breakers in the breaker panel, instead of single pole breakers. As you’ve likely concluded, a double pole breaker uses two breaker panel slots, rather than only a single breaker slot. You’ve still used two slots vs. just one, but now you have far more amp capacity! Double pole breakers are typically 20 – 60 amps, so you’ve now gained the ability to place far more panels on a single circuit (vs. 15 or 20 amps at 120 volts), with only having to place a solitary double pole breaker in your panel!
That is the ONLY difference between using 240 volt far infrared panels vs. 120 volt far infrared panels…the capacity of your electrical system and breaker panel, meaning the total amount of heating panels that can be wired in.
There is only a negligible difference in performance, effectiveness, efficiency or even costs between the two voltages… certainly not enough of a difference to make a decision towards choosing one over the other.
The “mis-information” likely stems from electric motors running on 240 volts vs. 120 volts. In the case of an electric motor, 240 volts DOES make a difference, but not so with far infrared electric heating panels.
News Updates
Hatha Yoga Room in Amherst, Nova Scotia selects InfraredHeat.ca
We're excited to announce that Hatha Yoga Room in Amherst, Nova Scotia has chosen InfraredHeat.ca to supply their studio with far infrared heating panels, providing them with "hot" yoga offerings. Hatha Yoga Room is the very first (and only!) studio in Amherst...
Spectrum Infrared Lengthens Warranty to 30 Years
Spectrum Infrared is pleased to announce it has increased the warranty length from our previous 20 Year Warranty, to a new 30 Year Warranty on all our Si Series panels. Our Si Series panels have a life expectancy of 30+ years, so this is in keeping with that...