10 Must-Know Infrared Heating Facts

1. Are infrared heating panels safe?

Yes, Infrared heating panels are 100% safe for anyone and can be placed anywhere on any property. In fact, it has more benefits for our health than convective heating. One of these reasons is that it helps get rid of black mould because the infrared waves dry the wall from the inside out, which reduces condensation preventing the spread of mould. Infrared heating doesn’t produce anything harmful into the atmosphere and actually produces clean air into the home instead.

>> Check out our blog to find out more about the health benefits of infrared heating here. You will be surprised!

2. Is infrared heating cheaper than gas?

Due to the current fuel price market gas is cheaper than infrared heating and any electric heating. However, this may change as a result of the UK Government’s ban on gas heating from 2025. So, when we consider how energy-efficient infrared heating panels are infrared heating is a lot cheaper.

This is due to the way that infrared heats a room. The heat is transferred to the warm surface of the floor to humans/objects within the space and the other surfaces of the building enclosure using an infrared heating system which could save you up to 50% on your energy bills. In contrast to convective heating which warms the air first and heat is also lost through draughts. Infrared heating won’t escape through draughts providing constant humidity.

In addition, infrared heating heats a room up quicker than gas central heating. Gas central heating can often take around 30 minutes before occupants can start to feel the warmth as it heats the air within the space. Infrared heating heats objects, not the air, meaning that the warmth can be felt much quicker, normally less than 10 minutes. Heating a room up twice as fast as other heating systems.

Furthermore, when we consider running costs Infrared heating is significantly cheaper than gas because of this 1/3 more energy is required to heat a room using convection heat which means the heating needs to be left on for longer. Making gas more expensive to leave on than infrared heating.

3. Will infrared heaters save me money?

The short answer is yes Infrared heaters will save you money. Depending on what heating system you are converting from Infrared heating will still reduce your energy bills.

Firstly, there is no annual maintenance or servicing required to keep the infrared heating panels operating at maximum efficiency. As shown in figure 12 below the cost comparison of infrared panels is much cheaper than an ASHP which will also save you money with your upfront cost as well.

Also, Infrared heating panels offer flexibility in zone heating and control. In fact, it can be more energy and cost-efficient to only heat a room in use rather than the whole house. This can be easily done by adding one of our room sensors which will turn your heating on and off as it learns your heating patterns to suit your changing lifestyle. This makes sure you are always warm but never wastes any energy.

We compared a 1700-2000W convection heating system with Jigsaw Infrared heating and found out that the power consumption is 2 kWh to heat the room from 15.5 to 18.5 C and this will cost 32.6 pence/h which is 2.5 times higher than the cost of our Infrared heating system. Furthermore, the infrared heating system made more than 8 C variation in the room temperature and the efficiency was 2 times higher. Click here to read the full study.

In addition, when integrating solar PV and battery to Jigsaw infrared heating panels they can help reduce electricity need, reducing the running cost to make it more affordable.

4. Are infrared heating panels more efficient than heat pumps?

An infrared heating system is a great heat pump alternative as it might be more efficient because it has a lower upfront cost as well as costing over the building’s lifetime. The infrared heating system also benefits the homeowner with lower running costs and no ongoing maintenance and service costs.

Also, Air source heat pumps have a lower output than Infrared heating panels. This means they cannot deliver heat as quickly as an infrared heating system as you can feel the warmth within 2 minutes and full temperature around 18- 20 degrees within 10 minutes. On top of this when it gets cold the efficiency of the heat pump decreases which means that they become less efficient the colder it gets as they will work harder to generate more heat, therefore, using more electricity.

Whereas, with our clever control system combined with our infrared heaters will detect external temperatures to optimise indoor heating as necessary. Which increases efficiency by minimising the time the heater is on as it lowers thermal mass. On top of this, Infrared simply heats up indoors and bounces directly off people and objects to efficiently heat a room.

The below image shows a comparison of space heating energy. As you can see Infrared is more efficient at heating a room over a heat pump. For the full comparison click here.

5. Is infrared heating efficient?

Yes, infrared heating is very efficient. There are no distributed heat losses as other heating systems and they do not suffer the same loss of efficiency. This is because 100% of electrical energy used by infrared heaters is converted to heat which means that you could save as much as 50% compared to other heating systems.

In addition, Infrared heating panels produce heat quickly and warm the room almost as soon as you switch on the panel. Therefore, there is no need to wait for the room to get warm. This results in more savings on energy bills. As well as this with infrared heating panels, the air across the room heats consistently and offers greater comfort to people without them having to avoid any cold areas in the room.

For the infrared panels to have full effect on your property’s efficiency levels the right-sized panels need to be selected to ensure that the room is being heated properly and it is not wasting energy. After the correct panel is purchased, it will need to be installed in the appropriate place in the home. Infrared heating panels can be easily added to the existing heating system so that the home can reach a comfortable temperature easily without increasing energy bills. At Jigsaw we have a clever smart control system that will only heat the rooms in use, detects external temperatures to optimise heating controls, and turns them on and off when it reaches your required temperature.

We have a group of specialists that will spec your property to the highest efficiency.

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6. Does infrared heating cause Cancer?

No, infrared heating doesn’t cause cancer. This is a different infrared radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum. While this infrared heat is similar to that generated by the sun, it is actually the sun’s UV component that is harmful to our bodies. This means that it is just the far-infrared heat that is emitted from the infrared panels.

What is that you may ask?

Far-infrared heat is proven to be one of the most effective as they use low-watt density heat that emits long wavelengths which are gentle and easily absorbed into objects for optimal heat.

7. How many infrared heaters do I need?

This really depends on how insulated your house is and the size of your rooms as well. As a margin, here is a graph that calculates everything that we would need to spec your property.

8. Do infrared heaters heat the whole room?

Yes, infrared heaters can heat a whole room. In fact, they can heat any property even churches. Churches are a great comparison to know if infrared heaters really work as they are large buildings, get a lot of draughts and are difficult to heat. We have an array of case studies to prove this where the results can prove that infrared heaters work. Including heating the church and people within 5 minutes and the heating is proactive and targeted meaning that there is less wasted energy.

For all of our case studies click here.

9. How much does Infrared heating cost?

In simple terms, we couldn’t tell you the exact amount it would cost infrared heating would cost as it depends on the size of your rooms and the insulation of each room as with any heating solution, the better insulated your house is, then the better it will retain its heat, and therefore the less time it will need to be on. However, we can show you the cost and running costs of a 2-bedroom semi-detached simulated house that the university of Wolverhampton studied to understand more about the cost of infrared.

IR heating panels: 400w = £395; 800w = £595; 1200w = £795
9 IR panels are required: 5 x 400W and 4 x 800W.
Cost of IR panels: 5x£395 + 4x£595 = £1,975 + £2,380 = £4,355
Room thermostat (One for each room) = £89. Cost of room thermostats: 9x £89= £801 Motion Control Sensor (One per room – If required for study) = £45. Not required. Control Hub (One per property) = £129

Total unit and parts cost for IR heating panels: £4,355+£801+£129= £5,285.

IR panel installation is estimated to be maximum 1 day work for electrician including materials, which would be £500 for a second fix. The first fix completed by the builder would take a couple of hours per property for the heaters. Estimated £200 total. Total installation cost including materials = £700

Below is a graph that compares this information with other forms of heating.

Cost of three heating systems over the lifespan of a building

Keep in mind the below table is a cost comparison of the gas prices this year. When gas heating is phased out, it will have a knock-on effect on the fuel market and renewable electricity and technology will be more affordable.

10. Which infrared heater is best?

Without being biased about our infrared heating system. Here are the main reasons why we manufacture the best-infrared heaters.

Click here to find out more.

This information is correct in the data given from the month of 01/11/21. There may be changes to the electric and gas market that may affect this data.