Infrared Heaters

About Infrared Heaters and Infrared Heater Manufacturers Including: Garage Heater, Infrared Heat, Outdoor Heaters, Portable Heaters & Radiant Heaters.

Infrared heaters heat objects or materials using radiant heat produced by infrared light waves. Infrared heaters have waves that are invisible to the human eye. They are longer waves located very near the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The waves have a penetrating heating effect. Infrared heaters produce waves of heat, which radiate from the source or element outward. The waves are directed and/or concentrated by a series of reflectors, reducing wasted energy.
 
Infrared heaters are best used in areas where some kind of object, rather than a space, needs to be heated (i.e. adhesive curing, drying lacquer, liquid paint curing, etc.). Infrared heaters are typically found as part of a process on a production line, where plastic, ceramic, food or metal products are produced. However, infrared heaters are also found in areas that make central heating impossible, such as automobile garages and plane hangars. Buildings like these have large doors that allow great amounts of air to escape. Infrared heat is useful in these circumstances, as it heats the floor rather than blowing down from vents in the ceiling, as is the case with forced warm air systems. The amount of heat generated by infrared heaters depends on the molecular makeup of the material, meaning that one type of material reacts differently to infrared energy than another type of material.
 
Infrared heaters are preferred to convection ovens for a variety of reasons. It can heat products to temperatures above 1,200óF at a much lower cost than convection ovens. Infrared heaters can be turned on and off and within seconds will achieve desired production conditions; convection ovens may take between 30 minutes and two hours and so must be left on all day, even when there is no production. Infrared heaters can heat objects in a vacuum, which is impossible to do with convection. Part temperature is regulated by a convection oven, not to exceed a certain temperature only; infrared heaters prevent temperature from increasing or decreasing, usually employing a closed loop automatic system. Infrared heaters are also beneficial in heating delicate material, because the source of the heat does not come into contact with the material. Convection ovens are always designed the same, but infrared systems can be custom designed to correspond to the substrate being processed.
 
Convection does have some advantages over infrared, however. In a mixed batch, components heat up at different rates but never surpass the temperature of a convection oven. Products heated by infrared heaters will heat at different rates and reach temperatures that differ according to their mass. Convection ovens are more easily designed and simpler to operate. In designing infrared ovens, it is normally necessary to use advanced product testing to determine oven design, making them more complex to operate. An increase in production can be obtained with minimal capital investment by adding a short infrared oven section in front of a convection oven.

Infrared Heaters Images Provided by Heraeus Noblelight, Inc.

Types of Infrared Heaters

• Ceramic infrared heaters use elements coated in ceramic to heat objects; often used for food or plastics.
  
• Electric infrared heaters use electricity to create infrared light waves and heat material or objects.
  
• Garage heaters are used to heat garages and workshops.
  
• Gas infrared heatersare powered by gas and use infrared light waves and reflectors to heat objects or materials.
  
• Infrared gas tube heaters move hot gases through a tube to produce radiant energy from the tube. Reflectors direct the heat accordingly.
  
• Infrared heat uses electromagnetic radiation.
  
• Infrared portable heaters are constructed to be able to be moved around fairly often without damage or hassle.
  
• Infrared propane heaters use propane to generate energy to produce infrared light waves to heat as needed.
  
• Outdoor heaters are infrared radiant heaters used on decks, patios, and other outdoor locations.
  
• Portable heaters can be moved from one place to another.
  
• Radiant infrared heaters are what most people are referring to when referring to infrared heaters in general.

Infrared Heaters Terms

BTU (British Thermal Unit) – Measurement of heat in scale to how much heat will raise water temperature by one degree.
 
Closed Loop Control – 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.
 
Convection – The transfer and distribution of heat by fluid or gas, an alternative to infrared.
 
Conduction – Heat transfer and distribution through a solid substance, an alternative to infrared.
 
Curing – A process that improves coating durability by heating polymeric material to form a new structure with improved properties.
 
Drying – Removes the liquid or solvent, often through heat, so the material is dry without changing the makeup.
 
Feedback – The process in which part of the output is returned to the source in order to regulate the productivity of a system
 
Forced Warm Air System – Distributes heated air from a central source to each room via ductwork.
 
Heat Treating – Describes heating material to dry, cure, harden or temper it.
 
Infrared – A part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is not visible to humans, but is very near to the visible light spectrum.
 
Kelvin – Scale of international temperature measurement.
 
Maximum Operating Temperature – The highest temperature that the sheath covering the infrared heater may reach.
 
Micron – Unit of length that is one-millionth of a meter or one-thousandth of a millimeter, short for micrometer.
 
Powder Coating – The spray on powdered polymer applied to a material/object, which is heated until the coating melts over the material and is evenly cured.
 
Radiant Heat – 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.
 
Reflector – Material put in place to bounce heat waves off of or to direct heat to a certain area.
 
Substrate – Term meaning the object to which a coating or process is being applied.
 
Therm – In terms of measuring heat, about 100,000 BTUH.
 
Wavelength – Especially on an electromagnetic wave, the distance that a wave progresses in the time it takes to complete a cycle.