How Do Radiant Heaters Work? |  What is a Radiant Heater?

Radiant Heaters are cost-efficient and amazingly effective. It is found that these Heaters are the cheapest among all the other types of Heaters that are available in the market today.

People living in cold countries need Heaters to keep their houses warm. However, choosing the best heater for your house becomes difficult with so many market options.

Here in this article, today we will learn about Radiant Heaters. We will learn about the types, benefits, and answers to people’s common questions.

What is a Radiant Heater?

Radiant Heaters are designed to generate heat inside, which is evenly radiated to the objects and people nearby. The primary example of radiant heaters is the sun. On sunny days, we feel the warmth that makes us feel good.

This is due to the heat energy caused due to infrared radiation. These heaters are not designed to heat the air inside the room. Instead, it radiates heat to the objects kept near the heater.

This is unique as well because they depend entirely on infrared technology. The infrared waves are not visible. This is nothing but light that is absorbed immediately after the heat is generated.

Using this heater, you do not have to wait longer as the air becomes warm. This is one of the best heaters that one can choose to use.

Do Radiant Heaters Heat the Air?

Most heaters work by heating the air inside the space. In the case of Radiant Heaters, things are different. It generates heat inside and radiates it to the nearby person or object. This heating process makes the room warm faster than the working principle used in other Heaters.

The desired warmth and the size of the room also play an essential role in determining the time taken for the traditional air heaters to heat the room.

As conventional heaters take a lot of time to provide the right heat in big rooms, people have started buying radiant heaters. These heat the room right away without any problem.

How Do Radiant Heaters Work?

Radiant heaters function based on the principle of infrared radiation. Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how they work:

1. Heat Generation: Radiant heaters are equipped with a heating element, typically made of metal or ceramic. When electricity passes through this element, it heats up and emits infrared radiation.
2. Infrared Emission: The infrared radiation is then emitted in straight lines from the heater. This type of radiation is invisible to the human eye but can be felt as heat.
3. Direct Heating: Instead of heating the air, infrared radiation travels through the air and directly heats objects and people within its range. This direct transfer of heat is highly efficient, as it minimizes energy loss.
4. Heat Absorption: The objects and surfaces that absorb the infrared radiation re-radiate the heat, gradually warming up the entire space. This process ensures a more even distribution of warmth compared to conventional heaters.

Types of Radiant Heaters

There are several types of radiant heaters available, each designed for specific applications:

1. Portable Radiant Heaters: These are small, mobile units ideal for heating individual rooms or personal spaces. They are easy to move around and can be plugged into standard electrical outlets.
2. Wall-Mounted Radiant Heaters: These heaters are installed on walls and are often used for supplemental heating in homes or offices. They save floor space and provide consistent warmth.
3. Ceiling-Mounted Radiant Heaters: Commonly used in commercial or industrial settings, these heaters are installed on ceilings to provide broad coverage and even heating.
4. Underfloor Radiant Heating Systems: These systems are installed beneath the flooring and provide uniform heat across the entire floor surface. They are popular in homes for their comfort and efficiency.

Benefits of Radiant Heaters

Radiant heaters offer several advantages that make them a popular choice for many households and businesses:

1. Energy Efficiency: By directly heating objects and people rather than the air, radiant heaters reduce energy loss and provide efficient warmth.
2. Comfort: The heat produced by radiant heaters is similar to natural sunlight, providing a comfortable and pleasant warmth without drying out the air.
3. Silent Operation: Radiant heaters operate quietly, making them ideal for bedrooms, offices, and other noise-sensitive environments.
4. Even Heat Distribution: The direct heating method ensures consistent and even warmth throughout the space, eliminating cold spots.
5. Health Benefits: Radiant heating does not circulate dust and allergens, making it a healthier option for individuals with respiratory issues.

How Do Radiant Heaters Work?

These heaters work by generating infrared radiation. The objects kept nearby radiate heat energy at a capacity equal to their temperature.

The radiant heaters produce infrared energy, which moves in the invisible electromagnetic waves and is absorbed by the objects that fall along the path.

Radiant heaters use two ways to produce heat. They are electricity and gas.

• Gas

The air and gas mixture in the radiant gas heaters is ignited using an electrode based on the surface. The flame heats the tube, and the temperature starts to rise. The heater consists of radiant tubes that produce radiant heat.

Because of the waste, fumes are emitted into the air, and other ventilation systems are also needed.

• Electric

These heaters generate radiant heat when the electricity travels through the metal coils. These metal coils are on the floor, ceiling, and inside the space heaters. The radiant electric heat is slowly radiated.

What’s The Benefit Of Using a Radiant Heater?

Radiant heaters have unique benefits. These generate heat that passes through the air inside the room and heats the objects kept nearby. This technique is efficient and makes the room warm faster and easier.

As the radiant heat can make the warm space fast, you do not require any expensive pre-heating system for your house. The infrared heaters offer warmth and heat way faster than the other Heaters.

These also help people to save their money in the long run. The main advantage that forces people to invest in these heaters are:

Reduced Running Cost

As you heat people and the objects inside the room, you can save a lot of money on the additional charges of heating the places not in use.

Silent Running

It does not make any noise when being run. Traditional heaters hum, but radiant heaters are silent when working. It doesn’t distract the workers, guests, clients, and customers and keeps them warm.

Types of Radiant Heaters

Different methods are used to keep the room warm using radiant heating techniques.  We all know that different types of radiant heaters are available in the market, each based on a different working principle. Some of the radiant heater types are as follows:

• Wall Mounted Radiant Heaters

The wall-mounted radiant heaters are new and recently introduced in the market. These are beneficial for use and are small and compact.

These do not take the space on the floor. This type of wall heater provides you with balanced heat up and down. These radiant heaters are incredibly safe for your house if you have pets or children. Children and pets do not contact these heaters as they are mounted on the walls.

There are wall-mounted heaters available in the market that look like a fireplace. Check out the available designs in the market and get the best heaters that meet your preferences.

• Permanent Floor Radiant Heaters

The permanent Floor Radiant Heaters are placed below the floor surface. These heaters are quite popular among people from different countries and are used mainly in the bathroom as the tiles get cold during winter.

Using these heaters, you can keep the ground warm without any problem.

• Ceiling Radiant Heaters

This radiant heater is installed inside the ceiling. From beneath the ceiling, the heat radiated to nearby objects or people. This system is like a radiant cove heater. These heaters combine convectional and radiant heat.

It directs the heat from the ceiling towards the direction of the floor. These units slowly disperse the warm air inside the room at a low temperature and attend to the minimal heat transfer level.

Using this process, one can save money and reduce the energy wasted by another type of heater.

• Freestanding Radiant Heaters

These heaters are small and portable. One can quickly move these around the house and carry them wherever one wants to.

These heaters are also known as portable space heaters. One of the most significant benefits of this unit is that one can take them wherever they want without any problem.

These heaters also work well in garages and spaces that are small. Same as the wall-mounted heaters, these look like a fireplace.

Convection Heater vs. Radiant Heater

• Thermodynamics And Quantum Mechanics

Two different processes are used in convection heating and radiant heating systems. Thermodynamics is used in convection heaters, whereas quantum mechanics is used in radiant heaters.

Unlike radiant heaters, convection heaters are built to heat the air inside the room. At the same time, the radiant heaters heat physical objects like things and people inside the room.

Because of the different heating processes, the heaters that use radiant heating produce a warm climate inside your room. These do not circulate heat in the air.

You can save your inside from mold growth when you use radiant heaters. This makes the heating units perfect for people who suffer from allergies. If you use convection heaters, the chances are that you will notice mold formation on the walls.

This is because when the air is cool after the heater is switched off, the moisture in the air starts to settle on the walls and leads to mold growth.

• Radiant Heat Works Like The Sun

We all know that the sun’s radiation starts to heat the objects on the path. The radiant heating systems provide you with comfortable heat using a similar method.

Only solid and liquid things are heated using the radiant heater, which transfers the heat around the room.

The air is permeable, which creates rays and makes the room temperature cooler. That is why radiant heaters are more efficient compared to convection heaters.

• Reduced Air Exchange Saves Energy

These heaters heat the objects inside the room rather than the air. This is why a low amount of energy is used during air exchange.

In conventional heaters, the system heats all the air inside the room to restore the temperature. Some air is moved around during the heating process due to the fan placed inside the heaters that run using conventional heating techniques.

This can also cause dust and other particles that fly around the air and cause irritation, asthma, and allergies.

Radiant heaters have radiant heat with an extremely low Rate of Air Exchange. This particular process helps to heal the objects and saves energy. This also creates an optimal environment for people who have asthma.

Radiant Heaters Energy Efficiency

The radiant heaters are energy-efficient if used for a shorter period, supposedly for an hour. These are not considered sustainable if used for a long time, such as overnight, or spaces are huge as these have limited reach. Compared to convection heaters, these do not lose heat energy.

Radiant Heaters FAQ

Are radiant heaters effective?

Yes, the radiant heaters are effective. They produce long-lasting heat and have silent working. Radiant Heater is cost-efficient, gentle, and silent.

Though these can cost a bit more compared to the standard heaters, you can save a lot on the bills in the long run. These are good for rooms that do not have much insulation. These are mainly designed for small areas.

These can be used if you want a heater to heat the whole house, but radiant heaters are not cut out for the entire house.

For plenty of people, these are a great source of heat. The infrared heat provides a room that makes you feel warm and cozy.

Are Radiant Heaters Bad for You?

Some people think whether using Radiant Heaters that use infrared radiation to heat the room is safe for use or not. Are there any health risks attached to it? This is one of the common questions that plenty of people ask.

People usually link radiation to something unsafe and dangerous, such as X-rays or radiation caused by nuclear reactions. However, this is not the same as the infrared radiation used in radiant heaters. These are not harmful to your health.

This radiation is naturally produced by the sun. This is what makes us warm during the summer days. Along with this, infrared radiation is different from X radiation and microwaves.  People think that infrared radiation will have the same effect as the sun emitting ultraviolet rays, contributing to skin damage.

Do radiant heaters use less electricity?

Yes, the electricity used by radiant heaters is way less than the other Heaters available on the market. These heaters do not use electricity in abundance, so using these in your home is relatively cheap.

What is the Difference between Radiant and Infrared Heat?

People often get confused when they hear words like Infrared and Radiant heating. There is no difference in these words. These are the same things. The word radiant means that the heat is produced using radiation, whereas infrared specifies that radiation is used to produce heat.

A radiant heater is a term generally used for heaters that use infrared radiation to heat the room. All the radiant heaters are infrared heaters. The radiation that makes us feel warm is infrared heat.  Unlike visible light, infrared heat has a longer wavelength but is not as long as microwaves.

Do radiant heaters get hot?

Yes, radiant heaters can become hot after you have used them for a long time or overnight. This should be kept away from the reach of children and pets at home.

What are the pros and cons of radiant heat?

Pros Of Radiant Heat

• These heaters are cheap to run as the electricity produced is way less than traditional heaters.
• It does not produce any sound when it is turned on and working. These heaters do not distract people inside the room in any way.
• The heat produced using these heaters lasts longer than the other Heaters. This is because it heats physical objects rather than heating air.

Cons Of Radiant Heat

• These only have on and off buttons. Therefore, one cannot control the heat produced using these heaters.
• It becomes hot after you have used it for a long time. It poses the risk of burns if you have pets and children.

Can I leave the infrared heater on all the time?

Infrared heaters can be kept on for overnight use. These are not so temperamental, and like other modern heaters available on the market, they use a safety button, which you can turn off the heater if it falls under and produces heat in a large amount. But it would help if you were still careful when using it or falling asleep.

Experts advise that you use timer options that help you turn off the switch after setting the time. This is one of the great things you get in these heaters. You can increase or turn off the heat if you feel hot while sleeping inside the room.

Ensure the heater is not covered, especially with flammable materials, and can fire easily.