ᐅ Electric Heating / Infrared Heating, Electricity Consumption

Hello!

I’m new here, so I hope I’m posting in the right place 🙂

We are currently converting our basement (an old house, which until recently was just dirt floor, no heating, no installations, etc.) – and it’s going to be a hobby room now.
We don’t need water down there, but fortunately, there is already electricity and lighting.
Now we’re looking for a heating solution, and since a renovation with a boiler would cost a fortune, the simplest alternative was electric heating.

Here’s the question:
Regular electric heating is usually very expensive, but I’ve read online several times that infrared heating, although also electric, is supposed to be quite economical. Does anyone already have experience with this type of heater?
How does the actual electricity consumption look?
Which suppliers are recommended? There are lots of cheap products at hardware stores and others with seemingly better quality...
Is infrared heating safe? I’ve seen mixed opinions on that...

Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Nargi

Hello,

Nargi schrieb:
...Standard electric heating is really expensive, but I have now read several times online that infrared heating, although also electric, is supposedly quite affordable.

What is the physical reason for this? 😕

Best regards

Nargi schrieb:
...Makes sense in theory, anyway...

Anyone who believes in such advertising hype only has themselves to blame ;-) Electric infrared heating is at best useful as a temporarily limited supplementary source, but not as the sole heat source, especially given the high heating loads of older buildings!

Best regards

It depends! In a passive house, I would consider using it as the sole heat source since the heating demand is so low that a system with high initial costs might be justified. In an older building, definitely not! The heating demand is too high there, which also means higher maintenance costs. You should do the calculations yourself!

The lower room temperature with radiant heating is due to the operative room temperature. People perceive the average of surface temperature and air temperature. How much you can lower and save with an infrared heating system compared to a conventional radiator heating system, you can calculate yourself. It usually won’t be more than 1–2°C (2–4°F)! So, it’s not really a significant saving!

JH-CADArchitekt schrieb:
It depends!

Correct, the specific conditions are decisive. The higher the actual demand, the higher the requirements for the system’s efficiency.

Best regards

Exactly as €uro says! And conversely, the less heating demand I have (for example, a passive house), the less I need to focus on the efficiency of my system.