Why Infrared Electric Heating Is The Future

We recently found these messages relating to "Why Infrared Electric Heating Is The Future", posted on a discussion forum and thought it made great reading.

Have a read and maybe post a comment on our blog to let us know what you think?

http://www.lowcarboneconomy.com/userprofile/infranomic_uk_limited/_discussions/why_infrared_electric_heating_is_the_future/3890

Cobham Pilates - Feedback

Just thought I would share the feedback we received from Cobham Pilates Studio Founder and Owner Donna Pourteymour:

"...the heater is fantastic and the installation was great!   It really makes a difference!  Thank you!"

Our engineer installed our latest FRICO infra red heater in the reception area of Cobham Pilates, to keep guests and those working at reception warm and toasty during the winter months. 

The radiant heat from the heater warms the surfaces and the people within a 2-3 metre range, making the ideal eco friendly, energy saving heating solution!

Cobham Pilates Reception

 

"Cobham Pilates was established in 2006 with the goal of bringing our passion for Pilates to the High Street of Cobham, Surrey."

"We offer more than 65 weekly Mat and Reformer classes grouped by ability level, as well as Cardio Pilates, NYC Ballet Workout and Studio Circuit Sessions. 

We specialize in expert private tuition utilizing all pilates equipment, providing you with a uniquely tailored pilates program for your body.
We offer rehabilitation for injuries as well as "pre-habilitation" for injury prevention and sports performance.
We offer continuing development and teacher's classes by the most respected teacher trainers in the industry.
Our outstanding team of teachers, all of whom hold either Body Control Pilates® or other internationally recognized certification, are waiting to meet you at our studio.
Our passion is contagious… come and see what we can do for your body."

http://www.cobhampilates.com 

Problems Heating Your Offices??

Infrared Heating Could Be The Solution!! 

 

Cold working environments
Open-plan office environments are mixed with closed offices and make it difficult to achieve well functioning ventilation, which affects heating. By using Infrared Heaters you are able to heat individual stations and desks in an office environment and in a reception it is possible to create different temperatures in different zones, despite the room temperature being the same throughout the entire premises.

Chill factor from windows
Chill factor is a phenomenon that occurs near most windows. In most buildings the chill factor is relieved using a convector placed under the window. Today, it is becoming more popular to fit windows all the way down to the floor and the convectors must be recessed in the floor to protrude up into the window.
Using a Thermoplus Infrared Heater located on the wall above the windows can make a big difference to the experienced temperature. A smart control system means that the Infrared Heater can be controlled so that it switches on as necessary.

Total heating
Office environments are places where many people need a pleasant working environment. Work is stationary, which places great demands on an even and comfortable indoor temperature meaning creating energy efficient heating becomes even more important.
Today there are good solutions for overall heating using Infrared Heaters. Installing Infrared Heating Cassettes in a suspended ceiling gives almost invisible heating. As Infrared does not have any moving parts it's silent and there's no air movement. The Cassettes can also be easily moved around the suspended ceiling if the premises are redesigned.

Expensive to keep warm all day
Premises used as offices are usually only populated at certain times during the day and not every day of the week. Having the heating on all day and all year can be expensive.
By installing Infrared Heaters and a programmable heating control different temperatures in different zones can be maintained. For example, areas where stationary work is not carried out can maintain a lower temperature, whilst a slightly higher temperature can be maintained in the office environment. A programmable control can also reduce the temperature during the nights, weekends and holidays.

Draught at the entrance
When an unprotected door is opened, cold air flows in at floor level and hot air flows out through the upper section of the door. Before cold air is heated, staff are exposed to drafts and low temperatures.
By installing an Air Curtain inside the entry the indoor climate can be significantly improved. Air curtains must always be equipped with heating if there are staff who work close to the entry so by combining an air curtain with Infrared Heaters you can create a pleasant working and welcoming environment.

Hot Yoga – Why Heat & Humidity?

Heat and humidity allows the body to warm up properly. This in turn reduces the risk of injury and allows you to work more deeply.

If you take into consideration that Hot Yoga originated in India, where they have a much hotter and humid climate, it makes sense that we should prepare our bodies with heat and humidity before stretching.

By combining Heat and Humidity in Hot Yoga studios the following benefits can be gained;

·         Muscles and connective tissues become elastic allowing for greater flexibility with less chance of injury;

·         Encourages sweating which assists the detoxification process;

·         Blood becomes thinner which clears the circulatory system;

·         Helps to multiply T cells which fight infection and in turn keep your immune system functioning properly;

·         Helps to increase your heart rate which improves your cardiovascular system;

·         Burns fat more effectively;

·         Helps you to think clearer;

·         Improves strength because proteins can be utilized more effectively;

·         Speeds up the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids;

·         Provides strengthening of willpower, self control and determination.

As you can see, there are many benefits when heat and humidity are introduced into your workout, so why not contact us today for information on our Infrared Heating Panels and Humidifiers.

CAREL COMPACTSTEAM HUMIDIFIER

Top 5 Tips: Hot Yoga Studio Design

Whether you are looking to build a brand new, purpose built hot yoga studio, or add heating to an existing yoga centre to provide an additional offering to your customers / clients / yogis, there are 5 things to consider:

Euro Controls UK Ltd have produced a 5 Step article on the fundamentals to designing your very own hot yoga studio.  Read Article

Infra Red Hot Yoga: Air Temperature vs How You Feel

Thinking Of Using Infra Red Heating For Hot Yoga?

I guess this is a gentle reminder to those using infra red heating, or thinking of using infra red heating for their yoga studio - there is an important point to make about how we use the desired air temperature of the room to determine how much power is needed from the panel heaters.

Heats Like The Sun

The type of heat emitted from the heaters is the same as the type of heat we experience from standing in the sun on a hot day.  Yes, the air temperature has increased because of the infra red waves from the sun, but that is due to the sun heating the earth's surface, the buildings, the trees and anything else in the way of the infra red waves.  This is the way that infra red heating panels work - they simply heat like the sun.

Standing on the mountain

Picture: Beliefnet.com

We have to use a standard air room thermostat to turn the heating on in the room, and to give the heaters a target to aim for - however, what you experience on your skin from the infra red heaters and what the room temperature is, will be different.  It goes back to the example of how radiant heating works in the winter months - stand on a mountain side (if you are in a fortunate enough position to do so!), where temperatures are in the minus but with a clear blue sky, and you will feel heat from the sun even though the air is cold - this is how radiant heating works - it is the direct heat transfer from one object to another and not how high the air temperature of the room is.  So, we use a room thermostat to turn the heaters on to maximum power and then use the thermostat to turn them off when the air temperature of say 40⁰C is reached - and, if you practice long enough in a room where you have X number of heaters pumping out non harmful infra red waves you will experience the heat, that's for sure.


If you need people to feel warmth as soon as they walk in to the room, simply use a fan heater (see pic), booster heater or fan coil to warm the air up.

FRICO Fan Heater - Perfect For Pre  Heating

The fan heater can be plugged in to the mains power supply in between classes to raise the temperature of the air to a level that will feel very warm upon entering, all the while the infra red heaters will get to work heating the surfaces and eventually the yogis as they begin their practice.

The fan heaters we supply are manufactured to an industrial standard by  FRICO, Sweden (and they sure know a lot about chilly climates!

Hope that helps!

If you would any more information on how we go about selecting the right number of heaters, give us a call - we look at the following:

• Maximum number of people in the room
• The maximum air temperature required
• Size of the room
• The mounting height of the heaters
• Humidity control
• Ventilation

Infra Red Saunas - Imagine Having One Of These At Home!

Hot yoga is becoming increasingly popular among the yogi community, and it is always useful to know what other applications infra heating fits into - I'm taking a look at infra red saunas....

Red Saunas use infra red heating for saunas - what a fantastic concept. We are not affiliated in any way to Red Saunas, but I was browsing through other keywords for where / how to house infra red or radiant heating systems and came across these guys.

I'd seen infra red heated saunas advertised on the internet a while ago, but I can remember using one of those conventional saunas years ago at the local health club, and thinking - how on earth is that going to be better than having a normal sauna, and is it going to be as effective in getting the temperature up to 40 - 60⁰C?

Mind you, I haven't actually tried using an infra red sauna as yet, but knowing how hot the panels get in the office I can see it working (and I would guess Red Saunas wouldn't have much of a business if it didn't!).

Red Saunas

• No having to throw water over hot coals
• No having to wait ages for the sauna to heat up
• No hot spots
• Cost effective (much cheaper than a standard sauna)
• Clean
• Quick to set up
• Space saving......

You get total heating within the sauna to sweat those toxins out leaving you feeling refreshed and cleansed.

So along with infra red heating for the ceiling, underfloor heating, outdoor heating for the patio using infra red heating - you can now have your very own infra red sauna in the house / shed / garage / office???

Seriously, check this website out for more information: Red Saunas

Interview With Phil Alcock, MD, FRICO UK - Infra Red Heating

In the previous article, we spoke about the types of application (from the weird and wonderful to bog standard installation), the logeivity of such a system and how to calculate the energy savings derived from using infra heating technology.  In this, the last portion of the interview with Phil Alcock, MD of FRICO UK , we discuss the affects of infra red waves on the skin, what sort of sun tan (!) you can expect and we take a brief look at the future of infra red heating....

With regard to the infra red rays won’t it harm the body?

Interesting question actually because apart from you I don’t think I’ve been asked that before.  The facts are that radiant heating is part of the electromagnetic spectrum and it’s infrared and that is not to be confused with ultraviolet which is on the electromagnetic spectrum, but it is a completely different part of the wave length and also it is not to be confused with X-rays and micro waves which are obviously very dangerous.

Picture: Health Veda

Infrared is entirely benign and in fact as humans we are designed to feel comfortable with infrared energy and as mentioned previously, any warm surface gives off infrared energy which is perfectly safe.  It is not ultraviolet which is the harmful component of being in the sunshine which is also on a completely different end of the spectrum, in fact conversely infrared is widely known for its health benefits some of which can be overstated, and it’s not a cure all, but the fact that the body is designed to feel comfortable in the infrared energy will indicate that infrared heating is very beneficial.

Most people know that if you sit in an environment you need the air to feel quite warm to feel comfortable.  The humidity has an affect if you are sitting in a damp room the damp has an effect that’s also unhealthy.  You don’t get this problem with radiant heating, as it will heat the structures and prevent the condensation build up.

Plus, there is another health benefit to using infrared energy - there is no air movement. If you have a convection system there is always air movement because you set up a convection pattern – as warm air rises cold air falls to the ground, and that means that dust moves around the room along with anything else unpleasant in the air.  With an infrared system there is no air movement and it is very clean and that is why it is very popular in hospitals – they use a lot of radiant heating because they are concealed, meaning there are zero kinds of radiators to collect the dirt or pipe work to clean or nooks and crannies making it a very healthy system. 

So I won’t get a suntan from it then?

I’m afraid not – you might get a warm glow but not a tan!

What is the future for infrared heating?

Our experience is that it is growing all the time, particularly the electric infrared heating systems in the UK, it’s been a gas and radiators market and that is down to tradition more than science. Most people know that fuel costs are rising and gas is rising faster than electricity, and no fuel is cheap nowadays, but well insulated building are favouring systems (if you look at the running costs of a system) that requires no maintenance and is very cheap and easy to install, such as infrared heating.

So in domestic situations there is a move towards this sort of heating - we are also finding more and more use in commercial situations and sports environments, and that is a fast growing market because as you know there is more interest in health and leisure activities right now.

Picture: Getty Images

So we find that the uses and applications are growing all the time and we are always going to need heating, certainly in this country, but what we also find is that we can use less heating – the typical house heating load is a fraction of what it was a few decades ago.  Because the products are very flexible and able to fit into many different types of applications, it means infrared heaters can be used absolutely anywhere.

So would you agree because of the advancement of building design and construction that has encouraged this growth in using infrared technology?

Yes absolutely - no system is perfect and there are things to be considered when designing radiant heating systems.  One of the things to consider particularly in a residential and office situation is that you still need enough heat in the building to cover the heat loss, and if the heat loss is very high i.e. in a badly built leaky building, that would mean using a lot of radiant heating.  The problem can then be that it can appear too hot because our bodies can directly absorb the infrared heat coming from a large number of power infrared heaters -  and that was the problem in the past with heating these old badly put together buildings such as warehouses and large halls.

That’s all changed and now building regulations have changed and radiant heating comes in to its own.  One of the things that we bring to the market is having the expertise in how to apply the product to design a radiant heating system.  We have found that you have to be careful not to oversize it rather than undersize it, it is more often the case the system has been oversized and getting too warm than not warm enough. 

So it is important as part of the whole heating package that there is a controls system to make sure the system doesn’t get too hot, and again you need a bit of expertise and experience to design the system and to design it correctly so that it is working as perfectly as a heating system can. 

Thanks for your time Phil. 

I Have Become An Infra Red Heating Geek....

.....I am thinking of changing the name of this blog to theinfraredheatinggeek.com

Underfloor heating, domestic heating, radiators

Underfloor heating – which is still infra red heating – is capable of heating a whole house without popping the wood  floor up or destroying the laminate.  In fact underfloor heating is the most efficient type of heating because of the minimal heart stratification experienced when turning the system on – in a nutshell you get more consistent heat spread in the room compared to using a conventional gas heated radiator system.

We do rant on about infra red heating being far superior in terms of comfort, energy savings and ease of installation, but in all fairness you may quite like having old style radiators on the wall, perhaps boxed in with a decorative wooden panel.

Infra red heaters aren’t exactly much to look at, in fact you barely notice them at all, however it is the 'discreet-ness' that makes them so appealing to home owners, office landlords.  They can go behind the plaster board in the ceiling in between the rafters, they can be mounted on the wall with a picture design (insert picture) emitting heat, or as mentioned they can go right under your feet in the floor.  It just means you can reduce the amount of heaters attached to the wall, provide a comfortable spread of heat and not worry about the boiler breaking down in the winter – as long as your electricity supply is OK, you will have heating.  No bleeding of radiators, no service call out, just plain on..and off.

One of my goals is to build a house in Berkshire, right out in the sticks, and guess what I shall be using – yep, infra red ceiling and floor heating throughout....

Am I a bit of an infra red heater geek? – perhaps.

It just made total sense when learning about the benefits over using radiators that when the house is going through the design stages, I shall be accounting for the use of infra heaters.  Either the manufacturers have done a great sales job on me, or I am seriously on to something.  I want to keep my bills low, use the heating on demand at the flick of a switch and not have to worry about the boiler (except for hot water for my morning shower of course!).

Customer Feedback - How Do You Get Yours?

Favourite Customers...

You know the ones that pay on time, work with you during the specification phase, are clear about what they want and don't want, and give you feedback on the products and services you provide.

It seems the 80/20 principle can be applied here - but why is it only 20% of customers provide 80% of the feedback a business (especially an SME) really needs to grow, adapt and change to meet the demands of the end user.  How can we engage our customers more fully to provide a cleaner, smoother buying process where both parties are satisfied?

Do your customers provide unprompted feedback?  Is it a British thing to keep quiet and not make a fuss?  Will it make us too proud if we receive positive feedback?  We're apparently a nation of whiners - where's the whining gone?  If we can't hear you, we can't help you........

Thinking a little more about this topic - and how the likes of super seller Amazon openly encourage author / book seller feedback - it would seem the easier way to report on a book / book seller is through digital feedback systems, which is fine, but how about a bit of direct "liking", "not liking" or commenting over the phone, or for those who do prefer a written response - email.  I would expect most SME owners are very open to criticism that could lead to the discovery of a new and innovative way of conducting business based upon an upfront, and honest critique of the way the product or service was delivered.

Our harshest critics can turn out to be our greatest teachers.......

Granted, companies do use Facebook for feedback and for customer service messages, however, is social media really taking place of the customer service team, the person on the end of the phone?........What do  you think?

Anyway, back to our favourite customers:  we all have them - they pay on time, ask engaging questions and challenge us to be a better company, give honest feedback and give us referrals for more business.

Our hats are off, and we are bowing down to The House of Yoga Owner, Jason Pooley, who recently opened the first hot yoga studio in Putney.  He has worked very closely with us right from the get-go to ensure the best type and model of infra red heaters were fitted into the new studio, and that his members/clients would be happy with the hot room.



He provides us with regular feedback, what has worked, what hasn't worked, and asks questions about refining the controls of the heating system.  With this sort feedback we can improve our services, after sales support, and it helps when advising customers by providing solutions based upon experience rather than a manual.
He has provided us with referrals, and we are busy providing quotes for more hot yoga studios in and around the London area.

So, we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to get involved in a project that was a little outside of our usual scope, for the insights into the hot yoga industry and the chance to be a part of fast growing market.

Thanks Jason, we wish you the very best of success, and look forward to the expansion!

Infrared Heating - Discussion With Phil Alcock, MD, FRICO

Contd....Part 2 of Discussion With Phil Alcock, MD, FRICO UK.

Thanks Phil – infrared is becoming more and more popular in yoga studios, gymnasiums, sports halls; do you see any other growth areas where infrared heating can be used?

Infrared heating will provide heat in large areas such as warehouses, churches, sports halls, gymnasiums, which have very large air volume structures and traditional buildings like a warehouse, which is not usually well insulated.  Trying to heat the air space in those buildings is almost impossible or certainly very expensive to do, so radiant heating is better because you don’t have to heat such a huge air space. 

Radiant heating has not been the most obvious option to use, but now with very well insulated properties and at the other end of the scale, living rooms, domestic rooms, offices, yoga studios, most new buildings are now very well insulated - so radiant heating is a very, very effective solution.  Part of the reason for this is that the heat requirement in a well insulated environment is very low.  One of the benefits of using radiant heating is that you can very precisely match the heat loss of the room to the power needed - so in theory if the heat loss is 700W you install 700W of radiant heating.  You precisely match the heat load for that the room.  

Again, the advantage of radiant heating is that you don’t need to preheat the air or to provide a more powerful unit to provide a fast warm up, so you can very precisely match the heat loss.  If the heat loss is low, and for a small room typically it may only be few 100W which is the sort of heat contribution you would get from a couple of light bulbs - a small amount of radiant heating can provide a similar amount of radiant energy and because of that you can hide the radiant heating in parts of the structure.  You can put it in the floor, you can put them in the ceiling or on the wall as decorative panels, so there is a huge amount of possibilities but the main advantage is that you can directly match the heat loss and hide them in the structures very discreetly.

So what with better building standards – the use of infrared heating looks to be a far better alternative to gas central heating?

Yes exactly, and if you class under floor heating systems as radiant heating (which they are) there are an awful lot of new homes using this method of heating, and under floor is a very successful heating system – wet or electric – it is popular mainly because it is very easy to connect to a heat pump.  

Heat pumps are very energy efficient but they are very high capital costs and if you look at domestic radiant heating, it is very low capital costs and absolute zero maintenance.  In fact a lot of radiant heating systems we supply are intended to be largely DIY installed type products, so there is not such a huge level of skill required to install electric radiant heating system  - so it has a low capital cost and it has a low running cost which are just more examples of the advantages of using infrared heating systems – so, the fact is that when placed in a well insulated modern building we can provide heat with very low energy without the maintenance worries and costs.

Managing a sports centre?  Looking for ways to save energy?  Why not try installing infrared heating panels............visit our site:  Euro Controls UK Ltd 

10 Step Guide to Programming A Hot Yoga Studio

How to measure the heat up time on an infrared heating system....

......you can't.

Well, to be precise, you can't be exact.... 

Each building is different - insulation, windows, flat ceiling vs pitched, hard floors, external walls, the list goes on........

10 Step Guide to Programming Your Hot Yoga Studio:

FRICO TFP12 Remote Controller

1. Set the comfort (heating) mode to the desired temperature (e.g. 35⁰C)
2. Set the set back (night setting) mode to around 10-15⁰C
3. Program the class schedule into the controller
4. Allow for 1 hour of heat up time prior to the class starting.  E.g. for a 7am class, set the program to begin at 6am.
5. If the air temperature has reached 35⁰C by 7am, no need to read the rest of this article.
6. If, however, you are not satisfied that it has reached the desired temperature, add an extra hour of heat up time - i.e. start the heating at 5am.
7. Once you have established the best heat up time save the settings.
8. There is no greater cost to add another hour of heat up time (roughly 50p per hour on a 100m² room)
9. Winter - add an extra hour to the heat up time.
10. Summer - reduce by an hour

Finally, keep playing with the controls until you are happy with the heat up time.  It takes time and patience to diligently test out the above, however, it will be worth it when you see the reduced heating bill and the satisfied clients!

The above is recommended only when you want to make sure the air temperature has reached the desired set point - remember, infrared heating can be felt immediately when standing under the heater, so don't obsess too much about air temperature.

Owner of a yoga studio?  Looking for a commercial edge?  Why not try installing infrared heating panels............visit our site:  Euro Controls UK Ltd 

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.........

Hot Yoga - What To Expect

With the rise in popularity of hot yoga and in particular Bikram Yoga, it would seem that many other yoga studio operators are looking to jump on the back of the latest wellness buzz and get stuck in to performing poses under hot conditions.

Bikram Yoga operators use a hot air system that works in the same way as an air conditioning system, heating the air up to around 40⁰C. However, infrared is being touted as the latest and most practical way to heat the room ready for yogis.

There is a distinct difference between the two types of system, and it is important to clarify the difference in the results you get from a purely technical point of view.

Firstly, when the studio uses an air conditioning system, expect to feel the heat in the air.  The floor will not necessarily be that hot, but you will certainly feel the raised air temperature as you take part in the yoga class.

Picture Source:  White Ibiza Blog

The air you breathe will feel hot, and there will be background noise from the air conditioning system. 

Secondly, when the studio is heated using infrared heating - expect a different result (and feeling).  

When you walk in to the studio the air temperature will not feel as hot as though you were walking in to a hot air studio.

The reason for this is that it works by the heaters - placed along the ceiling - emitting a type of infrared heat wave (much like the sun but on a smaller scale) that is absorbed by the body, reflected off the  floor, and absorbed by the walls and other objects.

The body absorbs the infrared waves, and the body will over time get warmer and warmer - this, coupled with the action of the different yoga poses will further heat the body, making you feel hot.

I am told that as the body is at a higher temperature because of this absorbtion of heat, there is greater detoxification, and a better result from the class - I would think it depends on preference.

You will sweat, it will feel hot, but don't expect to be hit by a blast of hot air when you enter the room.

Owner of a yoga studio? Looking for another commercial edge?  Why not try installing infrared heating panels............visit our site:  Euro Controls UK Ltd 

Hot Yoga - The Problem With Infrared Heating

My Infrared Heating Is Not Working!

Having read various blogs, forums, studies and websites proclaiming both the marvellous benefits of using infrared heating for a hot yoga studio and the pitfalls of using such system - it is clear that a point is being missed.

I read about a hot yoga studio owner who had a bad experience using the heaters as they did not provide enough heat, claiming they were a waste of money.  I cannot say for sure, but, I would ask if a comprehensive heat loss calculation had been made prior to the installation being made?

FRICO Thermocassette 600W Infrared Heater

This is a must before ordering any type of infrared heating, and especially when sourcing heaters for a hot yoga studio because of the high heat demand.

We take into consideration the age of the building, the type of insulation present, the number of people that will be in the room, the window sizes, the type of windows, the type of flooring, the number of external walls, average outdoor temp, indoor temp, the coldest day of the year, etc, etc.

If You Don't Assess - You Are Taking A Guess!

By performing a heat loss calculation, you can identify the amount of power (kW) that needs to be put back in the room to firstly overcome the heat loss and then to heat to the desired temperature.

If you have any questions, contact us, and we can walk you through the heat output calculation.

sales@eurocontrols.co.uk

Link to our Infrared Heaters page

Owner of a yoga studio? Looking for another commercial edge?  Why not try installing infrared heating panels............visit our site:  Euro Controls UK Ltd 

Installing Infrared Heaters - False Ceiling

Installing Infrared Heaters Into A False Ceiling - Guide

Sometimes it is not as simple as just hanging or placing the heaters in to a modular ceiling - mainly because depending on the total weight of the heaters, which can be anywhere from 80 to 150 kgs, it is worth checking a few things out before-hand:

Firstly, the design of the FRICO Thermocassette HP is so that they fit any standard modular ceiling much like what you would find in an office.  Because the larger heaters weight 10kg, it is well worth contacting the manufacturer to check if there are any constraints on extra weight being added to the ceiling.

If so, then you will need to check the ceiling above the false ceiling is capable of taking the extra weight of the heaters (it should be as it is probably made out of concrete!).  The Thermocassette infrared heater can be hung from the ceiling using the mounting brackets on the reverse of the unit.

Secondly, check there is enough space for extra cabling (you will need to connect the infrared heaters together to form a continuous electrical circuit).

And finally, remove any of the brackets that will be in the way of laying the infrared heaters.  Most of the cells of the modular ceiling will be 600x600mm, and the heaters are double this in length.  By removing one of the brackets the heater will slot in perfectly and blend in with the rest of the ceiling.

Key points regarding installation:

1. Ensure you have enough power supply available for the controller and the heaters combined, in Amps.
2. Check the status and the capability of the modular ceiling
3. Insulate the ceiling void to keep the heat where it should be - in the room
4. Remove any unwanted brackets
5. Support the heaters from the ceiling above the void
6. Make room for connector cables to go from one heater to the next
7. Space the heaters out along the ceiling in a uniform manner
8. Place the controller/thermostat out of direct sunlight

In addition to the above, you will need to specify the number of infrared heaters for the size of the room, the temperature you wish to achieve, and your geographical location.

Owner of a yoga studio? Looking for another commercial edge?  Why not try installing infrared heating panels............visit our site:  Euro Controls UK Ltd 

How does infrared heating work?...P3

Installing the heaters

Using a qualified electrician to install the infrared heaters is incredibly important, as it could mean the difference between a quality installation where you need not tamper with the equipment or mess around with the controls and weeks of agony trying desperately to get the installer back in to finish the job properly!

Ask the installer to show you how the controllers work, and what sort of heat settings you can expect.  Make sure you know how to do the basics, and don't take for granted that you can switch the infrared heating system on with one click of a button.  Most of the controllers we supply have program settings within the system, which means they function best when set up to run on automatic settings and not

The installer will most likely need to add each of the units to the electrical wiring loop, and use 'contactors' or breakers where necessary, to avoid over burdening the controller.  The heaters should also come with brackets so make sure when ordering you ask about brackets and how much extra cost is involved.

I need more power!

Ensure there is enough power being supplied to the infrared heaters - once the total Amperage is added up, you may find that there is very little power available from the main power board.  The last think you need is to add extra power to the building power board, as this can provide very costly and will sky rocket your capital costs.  Obviously, check whether the units run on a single phase power supply or a three phase supply.  Most small offices, small shops and spaces will run on single phase power, however the larger commercial and industrial spaces will run on three phase power supply, and some companies will have their own power grid to provide ample amperage!

So, to recap, here are some of the many benefits of installing electric infrared heaters:

• Low running costs
• Provide comfortable heating - much like the heat from the sun
• Easy to install
• No maintenance

Plus, when buying the heaters, ask the following questions:

• How much power supply is available on the power board?
• Do the heaters need mounting brackets?
• What sort of controls will you need?

Finally, when installing the heaters, remember the following:

• Hire a certified electrician
• Use breakers where necessary
• Ask the installer to show you how the controls work before leaving site
• Ask the installer to program the system before leaving site

How does infrared heating work?....P2

Part 2 of "How does infrared heating work?"

We have found the best way to heat a room is to use infrared heating mainly because of the short heat-up time, and the low energy use.  The reason the infrared heaters use less energy is because the energy is absorbed by the walls and the surfaces, causing them to feel warm and to radiate heat into the room rather than rely on reheating the air that can often be lost through the walls, windows, flooring and ceiling.  Once the walls and surfaces are warm they will retain the heat.  If a door is opened suddenly, the heat that is stored in the hard surfaces will not rush out of the room like hot air would.  Naturally some heat will be lost if the door is opened, however, the amount is minimal, and therefore it will take a small amount of energy from the heaters to heat the room back up to the required temperature.

The heaters manufactured by FRICO have been designed so that they are pleasant to look at when in a domestic or office environment.  The principle is that you should not notice that they are in the room, and FRICO have produced a ceiling tile that is heated that will fit snugly in to a modular ceiling, giving off up to 75 Watts of heat per tile to an office space without even know it was there.

The infrared rays themselves are totally harmless.  The structure of the heater will contain either a heating element such as a solid metal bar, or an aluminium foil that is encased in a heat resistant plastic casing, and both are then covered with the appropriate shell that is usually made from a reflective material such as aluminium so that the energy is transferred quickly from the heating foil or bar straight in to the room on to the objects.

FRICO Thermocassette Infrared Heater

When an electrical current is passed through the heating foil or the metal bar, it will emit a specific amount of ratdiation in the form of infrared waves.  These infrared waves, which are as previously stated, totally harmless and will not affect the person standing under the heater.  The infrared energy moves from the heater to all of the surfaces of the room or the space it is trying to heat, and the surfaces will both absorb and reflect the infrared waves, creating a warm environment.  The way this works is that when the infrared energy is absorbed in to the structures, let's say the walls and the floor,  the walls and the flooor will become warm and give off thermal or heat energy and start to warm the air up in the room. Second to this, they waill also relect the infrared waves of energy and begin bouncing around the room heating the rest of the surfaces, the machinery, computers and of course the people.

When standing in the room with radiant heating, you will notice that it feels warmer than convection heating, because of the direct heating affect coming from the infrared heating.  What this means (and this is where another energy saving comes in) is that you can set the room temperature lower than you would with a normal convection heating system and it will feel just as warm.

 There will be an all round comfortable feeling when occupying a room with infrared heating.  The feedback received regarding the infrared heating system is that clients love the type of heat being supplied by the heaters - the reason for this is that it is the closest you will get to standing under the sun, it feels the same as the heat coming from the sun.

Also, in industrial, commercial and retails applications, when an air curtain is strategically placed over the entrance doors, even more energy is saved from keeping the warm air in, and an even temperature is maintained throughout the space being heated.  Couple this with an advanced control system such as the SIRe controller from FRICO, and the TFP12 thermostatic controller, you can run a very sophisticated heating system that will self regulate and maintain comfortable heating within the room you are trying to heat.

The recent installation in to the hot yoga studio in London is a great example of how the aesthetics and control played a big part in the HP Thermocassettes being selected for the project.  Sleek looking, white finished infrared heaters were placed alongside the skylights, in uniform manner giving the room a modern look and feel.  Once the programmable controller (TFP12) had been set up and programmed according to the class timetable, the owners and instructors could leave the system running without having to tamper with the controls each day.  This frees up time for the owners to concentrate on their business, on bringing in more clients and on focussing on their business without having to worru about the inside temperatures.

The heaters provide a spread of heat over the whole of the studio, warming the floor, the walls and the people inside the room to create the perfect atmosphere for those wishing to practice hot yoga.