ᐅ Experience with infrared heating systems

pagoni2020 schrieb:

In our previous home, we didn’t have a heat pump but we did have underfloor heating, and I wasn’t completely happy with it. For some reason, I just prefer being able to adjust the heating quickly and spontaneously.

Yes, that’s also one of the reasons why we are considering an infrared heating system. How fast does yours respond? Is it really possible to quickly turn it up so you don’t have to shower in freezing cold in the morning, or to turn it down just as quickly when you have guests and suddenly five people are sitting in the living room? Or do the advertisers exaggerate a bit?

PeterPaule schrieb:

Yes, that’s also one of the reasons why we are considering getting an infrared heater. How quickly does yours respond? Is it really possible to just turn it on quickly so you’re not showering in freezing cold in the morning, and can it be turned down just as fast when you have visitors and suddenly five people are sitting in the living room? Or are the advertisers exaggerating a bit?

It works kind of like your stovetop or induction cooker 🙂
If you set it to level 9, it gets hot. Turn it down to level 2, and it cools off significantly right away 😉

PeterPaule schrieb:

Is it really possible to just quickly turn up the heat so you don’t have to shower in freezing cold in the morning?

If you are building a passive house or better, there is no freezing cold inside. If there is, you will also have serious mold issues.

You always need to keep the heating on to some extent. You don’t turn the heating off completely. It goes from warm to very warm.

I remember asking the exact same questions and feeling uncertain until installation. So far, we have been pleasantly surprised by how well it works. But we also don’t want it warm everywhere and all the time. When my wife comes home in the evening, we sometimes turn the heat up a bit. During the day, I adjust it based on my mood, or sometimes I turn on the heater just because I like the flickering effect. In our previous home with underfloor heating, I often felt it got suddenly very warm inside when the sun was shining, and I had to open the windows; we don’t experience that here anymore. Sometimes it even feels a bit cool, and then I just turn the knob a little. 😀

Our modules are either on or off; there is one thermostat, or I can even set them individually to turn on at specific times if I want to program them. Imagine it like a wall-mounted radiator—when you turn the knob, it works similarly. We have been living here for 2-3 months and are still discovering how everything in the house responds.

We have insulated to KfW40 standard, and I can confirm the house never really gets cold, which was new for me. To test it, I even turned the heating off completely for two days, and nobody was cold, not even in the morning at waking up. The temperature stayed between 18-19°C (64-66°F). Now we usually run the two heating elements in the kitchen area a bit in the morning. Since I don’t like it too warm anyway, this works for me. For example, today the heating is completely off, and when sunlight comes through the window, it quickly becomes warm. I find this extremely flexible. My concern about overly localized or even burning heat was not confirmed at all, although the elements can go up to 180°C (356°F). But my happiness doesn’t depend on a heating system.

In the bathroom, for instance, we currently have it set to 20°C (68°F), and we don’t use the electric underfloor heating there at all, which we think is fine. The so-called “problem” (in quotes) with water-based underfloor heating is that the floor usually doesn’t get very warm due to the low supply temperature. My experience was that sometimes the floor felt cold, and other times warm; I didn’t find that very comfortable.
But these are only individual aspects that help determine whether something suits you or not. Every heating system has its quirks and inconveniences—there’s no “magic all-in-one” solution when it comes to heating. Ultimately, a heating system’s performance depends significantly on the user’s behavior and expectations.

PeterPaule schrieb:

Is it really possible to quickly turn it up so you don’t have to shower in freezing cold in the morning? And can it just as quickly be turned down again if you have visitors and five people are sitting in the living room?

Exactly that works. In the bathroom, which is about 10m² (108 sq ft), we have two smaller modules installed in the ceiling throughout the room, and the whole space is simply warm as it should be. It’s not hot in some places and cold in others or unevenly heated; the warmth is uniform everywhere. That was one of my concerns.
What can I say — so far, we are satisfied. For example, we have three modules hanging high up on the ceiling, and that works well too. The placement and size of the modules are planned carefully, and a heat demand calculation is done.
In short, I definitely cannot confirm any horror stories. To support my credibility, I even extended an invitation because I don’t want to mislead anyone. Whether this system is suitable for your project or you like it, you’ll have to decide individually. As I said, you should talk with people who really know about it and don’t dismiss it outright. I could gladly share photos, calculations, etc., but for the reasons mentioned, I prefer not to post them here. I am always surprised to read claims that this or that is better, even though we are all very different people with different sensitivities... I thought. Maybe my sense of autonomy is very important to me, which is why I like to have these things tailored individually and personally. That’s also why, after initial interest, I decided against “too much” automation, though I can absolutely understand if someone else feels otherwise. One day I might want one degree more, the next day less; sometimes I want bright light while showering, other times dimmer... a machine can’t decide that for me. BUT THAT APPLIES ONLY TO ME! 😀

netuser schrieb:

It basically works like your stove top or induction plate 🙂 You put it on level 9, it gets hot. You turn it down to level 2, it gets considerably cooler right away 😉

I’m not familiar with that kind of system. Our modules are simply switched on and off by the thermostat; there is no modulation, and I don’t think it is necessary. At first, I even measured with an infrared thermometer to see when each module switched on.

Once again, a big thank you for your efforts; this is very helpful, and we will probably contact a manufacturer ourselves soon.

pagoni2020 schrieb:

I could gladly provide you with pictures, calculations, etc., but for the reasons mentioned, I prefer not to post them here.

That would be absolutely fantastic! According to the forum, I am "not yet authorized to start a personal conversation." If you could maybe take care of that...? Thank you very, very much; this will be extremely useful for me.

PeterPaule schrieb:

Thank you very much, this is very helpful to me.

Are you currently online here? . . . . .