|
||
Eden Pure, eHeater Infrared Heaters What makes IR Heaters Efficient?
You have heard of Eden Pure, eHeater and other similar manufacturers who claim you can heat your home for about one dollar per day using new infrared technology! The "Term" is new, but not the "Technology"!
A lot of buzz words are used to make it seem like some sort of new NASA development!
Facts-are-Facts: you must remember that you cannot defy the laws of physics or thermodynamics!
1 watt = 3.412 Btu/hr that's it!
You cannot improve on this with "resistance" type heating. The exception being mechanical heat transfer equipment
"The Heat Pump".
Thermal Heat Transfer is an extremely complex process and I'll try to avoid the scientific explanation. In a nutshell, these devices "deliver" heat energy in a different way. Conventional electric heaters use convection (air flow) to heat a room. Fluids (air and water) of different temperature do not mix well, so they cause uneven heating across the room.
It's all about our "comfort" ! Hot air migrates to the ceiling through convection. We generally occupy the space in a room from the floor to approximately 60 inches above the floor. This is where the cold air flows. So to raise the room temperature in the area below 60 inches, we must increase the temperature at the ceiling. So raising the temperature of the air at the ceiling, to raise the temperature at the floor increases heat flow through the ceiling into the cold attic space above. Convection heating is primarily used in heating insulated spaces. They heat objects in "view" of the heaters rather than the air surrounding the objects. They achieve this by "emitting" radiant energy which readily passes quickly through the air to objects throughout the room. It is the only method of heat transfer that can occur in a vacuum. Convection or airflow is not necessary for this heat transfer. IR heaters generate heat through special "emitters" which in turn heat the water vapor in the air with radiant energy rather than air convection. Because water molecules in the air are far apart and radiant energy travels easily through the air, the air throughout the room is evenly heated without creating the convection which would increase heat loss through the walls and ceilings. Other efficiency factors: Blue flame versus IR heaters: Ventless blue flame heaters require ventilation (air leaks through the building) to dilute the combustion gas byproducts. Thus you must have a loose building to use these inefficient appliances! Electric heaters are 100% efficient: They do not burn fuel which must exhaust combustion gases to the outdoors along with a percentage of the produced heat. Point of Use: IR heaters are intended to supplement your conventional heating system. Using a heater in the room in which you occupy allows you to lower the temperature throughout the rest of the building. This lowers the temperature differential across the building envelope and reduces heat transfer to the outdoors. Because you you are "in-site" of the IR heater, you lose less body heat to the surrounding air which prevents you from feeling "uncomfortable". So the actual air temperature in the room does not have to be as high to keep you feeling comfortable. These infrared devices are designed to reduce heat energy loss and requirements, rather than a means of generating more heat at a lower cost as much of the marketing materials imply. This is the same theory we apply to our energy and weatherization program.
Lower Energy Loss and use your HAVC System Less! Back to Energy-Weatherization Page
|
615-406-6808 |
