ᐅ Infrared heating throughout the entire house?

Wandervogel85 schrieb:

My tendency was already clear in the discussion that, despite all the supposed advantages, I will stick with the conventional system (air-to-water heat pump, photovoltaic system with storage, and underfloor heating).

It’s better to focus on proper heating system design and correct sizing of the underfloor heating. This ultimately lowers the supply temperature and thus reduces your energy costs.

@Wandervogel85
You are in a forum focused on underfloor heating and heat pumps, where government subsidies often influence the decision. However, that does not mean that other options, including infrared heating, are inherently nonsense.

There are architects who routinely implement such solutions, even in Baden-Württemberg; besides underfloor heating and heat pumps, there are other ways to heat a house effectively, and infrared heating is one of them. At the moment, though, heat pumps combined with underfloor heating are the most popular choice.

Every heating system requires thorough planning and, above all, consideration of your own preferences and needs. Nowadays, many homeowners no longer have any influence over what or how the general contractor installs the system—personally, I wouldn’t have wanted to accept that. You will find infrared heating more often in Austria, so it certainly works in the Black Forest region as well. Every system has its pros and cons; for example, I don’t like underfloor heating despite currently having it myself.

We are implementing a system with infrared heating combined with a larger wood stove and an open-plan living concept, designed to the KfW40+ standard, supplemented by a larger photovoltaic system on the roof, plus a heat pump for domestic hot water. In the federal state of Saxony, energy consultants told me that achieving the KfW55 standard would never be possible. However, my current energy consultant from Baden-Württemberg, a recognized engineering firm, easily planned the KfW40+ standard for me—or rather, they were the ones who suggested it. The skeptical questions or comments about the usefulness of your system can equally be directed the other way, as every system has its own pitfalls and challenges.

The provider you mentioned was immediately ruled out by us, but there are good alternatives available. I have visited houses with these systems and am familiar with their energy consumption. However, as I said, your individual needs and perspective are crucial.

Statements like “this is all nonsense” simply have to be tolerated or else not openly discussed here at all. You always have to own your decisions and engage deeply with the topic beforehand—checking carefully whether it fits your personal situation. That’s what we did. For us, for example, underfloor heating and a heat pump were not options. There is no miracle solution, including for heating systems, even if it may sometimes appear that way.

pagoni2020 schrieb:

You can find infrared heating more frequently in Austria,

But are you aware that electric direct resistive heaters are explicitly prohibited as the main heating system for various houses in Austria (whether nationwide or only in some federal states, I’m not exactly sure at the moment)? Just for your information.

@TE: There is a good forum from Austria – the Energiesparhausforum. Take your time to read through it and form your own opinion. And when choosing a KfW 40 standard home, don’t rely on infrared heating alone. As a supplementary heating source, yes; as the sole heating system, no.

nordanney schrieb:

But you do know that electric direct-resistance heating systems are explicitly prohibited as a main heating source for various houses in Austria (whether completely or only in some federal states, I’m not exactly sure at the moment)? Just for your information.

I only said that this type of heating is more common there, and of course you can heat a house with it. I never claimed it as a sole heating system. I also know several people here and many ongoing forum threads who are not very satisfied with their heat pump without a fireplace and are facing high bills.

As I mentioned, you need to do appropriate research in this area; once you do, you quickly understand what is possible and what makes sense for you. I can tell you that my approach is not banned; in fact, some forward-thinking architects deliberately choose it.

As I said, I have no intention of persuading anyone. However, I often encounter polarized opinions here, similar to debates about pros and cons of gas, climate policies, heating in general, or mechanical ventilation with heat recovery—unfortunately usually framed as if there’s only one right or wrong answer.

Maybe sometimes I will regret my decision or find some aspects less than ideal; but I already experience that with my underfloor heating, too. My friend with his heat pump has been frustrated and tinkering with it for two years, or paying a fortune in maintenance. Of course, this is a single case, but such cases do exist. If I had gas available, I would have taken it; but this is how it turned out, and I’m looking forward to it because I consciously chose this system.

For many, wood heating is also not an option for cost reasons. Although I personally don’t want to use wood and it may make things a bit more expensive, I am still looking forward to heating the house mainly with it and visibly so.

I just don’t like the constant temperature in every room with the inertia of underfloor heating—it doesn’t suit us or our daily routines.

As I said, if you really move away from the usual suspects, you will find other options; the problem is you won’t find much agreement on this forum. 😀

Hello, I briefly considered infrared heating as an alternative for my small 60m² (650 sq ft) living unit in the semi-detached house. However, the following key points were already clear for me, so it’s not really comparable to your situation: For the semi-detached house itself, especially the rented unit, definitely a heat pump! For my living unit, I never wanted underfloor heating anyway (except possibly in the bathroom). Therefore, the heating would be installed as a wall or ceiling heating system. The company Redwell offers nice comparison calculations, but in my opinion, they tend to be slightly optimistic and only cover a 15-year period. One might be suspicious about that 😉

For myself, I dismissed the idea, although it would have been possible even with KfW40+ standard. But since only 6.5 kWp could be installed on the roof, unpredictable electricity costs would come up in the future. I could not justify that economically or ecologically. So, as planned, the rented unit has a conventional underfloor heating system. In my living unit, there is a wall heating system plus underfloor heating in the bathroom. A small infrared (bathroom) heater is optionally planned in both bathrooms and will probably be added to the wall.

However, if I could and wanted to build again under optimal conditions (a very small house just for myself), it would seriously be an option together with a small pellet stove.

Infrared heater: 1 unit of electricity = 1 unit of heat
Heat pump: 1 unit of electricity = 2.5 to 4.5 units of heat