View A Video on Infrared Heaters - A Quick Introduction
Infrared heat can penetrate materials and gases more easily than typical convection heaters. Infrared heaters are more efficient than UV lamps, which require light waves to effectively heat an object. Infrared heat can be used in a number of different applications due to the wide variety of heater types including: space heaters for smaller spaces, radiant heaters and radiant gas heaters which convert heat from gas flames to reflect, door heaters and outdoor heaters, tube heaters usually have the heating element contained in a glass tube, infrared patio heaters and more. As infrared heaters tend to make very conservative use of energy, they can be used to heat spaces as large as warehouses or sheds and garages. Some infrared heaters use ceramic, glass or metal for the heating element, but quartz heaters are one of the most commonly found types because of the capacity of quartz to heat up very quickly. Electric infrared heaters typically have a coiled tungsten wire as the heating element and these heaters are commonly used in domestic appliances requiring immediate heat.
Some other common uses for infrared heating includes: room or space heaters, industrial uses such as plastic welding, drying of coatings or in glass processing, for animal care in zoos and veterinary clinics and medically for the relief of arthritic joint pain. Due to their high level of energy efficiency, infrared heaters are considered a "green" or environmentally sustainable method of creating heat. Using infrared heating in the place of regular forced air heaters in space heating, drying and curing applications has a large number of benefits, both environmentally and economically. As various materials react to and absorb heat differently, a material's radiant heat absorption properties are taken into consideration when determining the use of infrared heaters. Unlike other heating methods, infrared light causes an immediate source of heat and removes the existence of a lag between switching on a heater and feeling its effects. As infrared air heats up the intended object or surface without heating up the air or glass or covering in between, it is able to heat the same object in much less time - therefore saving both energy and money. Large buildings such as sheds, barns and garages allow great amounts of air to escape, and so infrared heaters are commonly used above the doorways of these buildings to heat the incoming air and prevent heat loss from within the building.
In terms of construction, infrared heaters are made up of a heating element and a reflective surface that is used to direct the heat rays onto an object for heating. The heater is generally available with a protective encasement covering the heating element to prevent injury from contact with heat. This covering can be made from materials such as aluminum, brass, copper, iron, stainless steel or steel. The material will come into close contact with extreme heat and so needs to be able to withstand high temperatures. Parameters to consider in the design of an infrared heater and in determining applied use for a heater include: the material choices for shield, the temperature that the heater will reach internally, the necessary voltage to receive and convert into infrared waves, maximum watts able to be produced by the heater etc. Electric and gas infrared heaters have different heating elements, although both types contain the element within a radiating tube, and as such are sometimes referred to as tube heaters. Gas heaters use the heat energy from a gas flame and convert it into infrared electromagnetic radiation through filaments, tubes, or ceramic heat exchangers combined with a series of reflectors to direct the resulting heat. Some radiant heaters may combine fans and air movement to redistribute heated air molecules and spread heat around a room faster, but these are not necessary for efficient infrared heating.
Further advantages to using infrared heaters include: as there are no burning fuels, infrared heaters do not emit harmful fumes into the environment and typically result in less health risks than other methods of heating. Infrared heaters do not produce high volumes of carbon dioxide. A further result of this is that infrared heaters are not a major cause of oxygen and moisture removal from the air, allowing heaters to be used in applications such as livestock and residential heating. Another benefit to not using fuels and to the overall temperature of the heating element being lower in infrared heaters results in a decreased risk of fire or burning. Furthermore, as infrared heaters do not rely on air molecules to transport heat and instead actually heat the object, or the air, and so heating patterns are more uniform. With conventional heaters, there are often pockets of warm and cool air depending on convection currents within a space and this can create problems, especially in industrial processes which require more precision.
Types of Infrared Heaters
- use elements coated in
ceramic to heat objects; often used for food or plastics.
- use
electricity to create infrared light waves and heat material or objects.
- are used to heat garages and workshops.
- are
powered by gas and use infrared light waves and reflectors to heat
objects or materials.
- move
hot gases through a tube to produce radiant energy from the tube.
Reflectors direct the heat accordingly.
- uses electromagnetic radiation.
- are
constructed to be able to be moved around fairly often without damage
or hassle.
- use propane to generate
energy to produce infrared light waves to heat as needed.
- are infrared radiant heaters used on decks, patios, and other outdoor locations.
- can be moved from one place to another.
- are what most people
are referring to when referring to infrared heaters in general.
Infrared Heaters Terms
- Measurement of heat
in scale to how much heat will raise water temperature by one degree.
- Control achieved by measuring the degree
to which the system responds compared to the desired response and using
the difference to drive the system to attain the preferred result.
- The transfer and
distribution of heat by fluid or gas, an alternative to infrared.
- Heat transfer
and distribution through a solid substance, an alternative to infrared.
- A process that improves
coating durability by heating polymeric material to form a new structure
with improved properties.
- Removes the liquid or solvent, often through heat, so
the material is dry without changing the makeup.
- The process in which part of the output is returned
to the source in order to regulate the productivity of a system
- Distributes
heated air from a central source to each room via ductwork.
- Describes heating material to dry, cure, harden
or temper it.
- A part of the electromagnetic
spectrum that is not visible to humans, but is very near to the visible
light spectrum.
- Scale of international temperature measurement.
- The highest temperature that the
sheath covering the infrared heater may reach.
- Unit of length that
is one-millionth of a meter or one-thousandth of a millimeter, short
for micrometer.
- The spray
on powdered polymer applied to a material/object, which is heated until
the coating melts over the material and is evenly
cured.
- Waves of heat
that start from a central point and move outward through the air, heating
solid objects that in turn heat
the surrounding area.
- Material put in place to bounce heat waves off of or
to direct heat to a certain area.
- Term meaning the object to which a coating or process
is being applied.
- In terms of measuring
heat, about 100,000 BTUH.
- Especially on an electromagnetic wave, the distance
that a wave progresses in the time it takes to complete a cycle.
