Infrared Heating - Interview With Phil Alcock, MD Of FRICO UK.

Interview with Phil Alcock, UK Managing Director of FRICO.

Phil thanks for coming in to talk about infrared heating and this developing market.

Let’s get straight into it - how do you go about proving or calculating the energy savings of using infrared heating?

We have a few a case studies where we have been using infrared heating in portable homes, small offices and commercial buildings where they have measured the energy savings using radiant heating versus using conventional convection heating.  We’ve also asked our clients to measure the savings, and we can clearly demonstrate a 25% savings across the heating use, and we can show the savings by making calculations and the saving is made mainly because the input loading of the heating system is lower using a radiant heating system - you install smaller lower energy appliances to do the same job as a warm air system.

Is that because you run the temperatures at different levels?

Yes that’s correct – there are several reasons why infrared heating uses lower energy compared to conventional warm air systems, and the main reason is exactly as you mention – that you can run the radiant heating system at a lower temperature and get the same heating affect as a hot air system.  Plus, it is not just what we say but it is enshrined in the European standards that tell us how we are to design heating systems correctly - because the body can directly absorb the radiant heat energy you therefore feel the warmth long before the room air temperature has risen.  

You actually feel warmer at lower air temperatures than you would with a conventional system. So, for example to feel comfortable in a typical living room or office situation traditionally you would assume you need an air temperature between 21⁰C and 23⁰C deg C for people sitting in their shirt sleeves to feel comfortable.  If you use a radiant heating system, because of the radiant heating contribution the comfort that people feel is the same as an air temperature of around 18⁰C – which is between 3⁰C and 5⁰C lower - you still feel the same comfort if you have a direct radiant heating source and that’s the physics of radiant heating.  

As it is directly absorbed by the body there’s no need to surround yourself with a jacket of very warm air to feel comfortable.  The radiant heating contributes directly to your heating so what you have with the radiant heating system is you are able to have a lower air temperature meaning overall you pay for less energy to heat the air and the system will concentrate on heating the objects in the room.

That makes sense – the comfort level though, is that based on studies that have been carried out or through the experience of supplying the heating system - how have you come to the above conclusion?

It is based on the experience of a number of infrared heatingsystems - thousands that would be installed in Europe and United States where it is a common form of heating, but it is also based on some empirical science. 

 One of the studies to look at, done in America Massachusetts Institute of Technology did some studies measuring people and comfort levels with different air temperatures and measuring the comfort levels when the sole source was hot air heating and measuring comfort levels when temperatures were lower but where there was infrared radiant heating contribution and in summary those tests showed that you could have a 3⁰C - 5⁰C  lower air temperature and the occupants will feel the same level of comfort.

To be contd.........