If you’re feeling a little chilly even with a new IR Heater, you may have fallen into one of these all-to-common mistakes. Here’s a quick troubleshooting guide to help make sure your IR heaters have the best chance to succeed.
1) Your Insulation Isn’t Up To Par
There’s a reason that insulation is such a hot button topic- it should be your absolute first port of call before making any changes to your heating. If your insulation isn’t adequate, you’ll lose heat just as quickly as you generate it, wasting a fortune in energy and money.
IR heaters aren’t as impacted by draught as other heaters on the market (since they use direct radiant heat), but they’ll still need to work a lot harder if your insulation isn’t good.
Fixing It…
Draught-proofing is one of the cheapest ways to upgrade your insulation, typically costing about £200 for the average UK property. This will typically save about £25 a year.
More important for IR heating is loft insulation. A quarter of all heat within a building is lost through the roof, so insulating this area is key. This should cost you around £1250 for the average UK home, but it will last for up to 40 years. Some households could save as much as £225 a year with this upgrade, so it will quickly pay for itself and then some.
2) You’ve Put It In The Wrong Place
IR heaters don’t look like typical radiators, and they don’t behave like them either. You can’t really install them in a like for like position and expect good results.
For example, some people like to place sofas in front of their radiators. This won’t hamper the efficacy of your radiator too much as long as you leave a little space, because they produce air in a cycle. This will get out into the room one way or another.
IR Heaters are different. They send waves of energy out into the room, which are absorbed by the objects they bump into. They can’t heat what they can’t ‘see’ as a result. Placing an object in front of your heater means you’ll only succeed in making that object warm.
Fixing It…
The best location for an IR heater is at head height, with plenty of space in front of it. It’s really easy to mount an IR heater on the wall or ceiling, and they look really stylish, so you shouldn’t need to tuck them behind other furnishings.
3) Your Heater Isn’t Powerful Enough
To ensure that you’ve got the right spread of heat, you’ll need to figure out the volume of your room (That’s m³ not m²) as well as its insulation level. This will tell you how many watts of heat you’ll need.
Larger rooms or rooms with poorer insulation need more powerful heaters. If you have an underpowered heater then you’ll be left a little cold.
Fixing It…
To get the volume of your space, multiply the length of the room by the width and the height. Take the resultant number, and times it by 25 if you have a well insulated room, 30 if you have a moderately insulated room, or 35 if you have a poorly insulated space. This will tell you how many watts you need and should guide your purchasing.
Alternatively, get in touch with our team for tailor-made advice about how much IR heating you need. Just give us a call on 0116 436 2250 or send us an email to sales@mirrorstone.co.uk.
Better yet, you can have a FREE Mirrorstone Heating catalogue sent direct to your door by hitting the button below, letting you read all about how infrared heating can change your home for the better.