Infrared Commercial Heating Systems
Warehouses and factories can be some of the hardest spaces to heat, especially in a cost-effective manner. They often have high ceilings which can result in heated air rising up and leaving people working at ground level uncomfortably cold.
Typically, gas fired warm air heating design includes the use of destratification fans to push the warmer air back towards ground level. By contrast, Infrared heat travels in straight lines and only heats objects and people rather than the air it passes through. It is also possible to position them so that they heat spaces between warehouse racking or factory machinery, to ensure the heat reaches the employees working in the spaces around them.
Coupled with the zero pre-heating time this means that the heaters can be very effective in areas which do not have people working continuously in them as the heaters can be turned on and off as required.
Both factories and warehouses often have loading bays that let out warm air and let in cold air when they are opened, making working conditions more uncomfortable and wasting energy. As the Infrared heating doesn’t heat the air, there is no warm air to escape so staff working in and around these areas can work at a good temperature regardless of the outside conditions.
Of course, it’s not all good news. Electricity does cost more per KwH than gas, so the running costs per unit of energy will be higher. However, the infrared heaters do have a very high efficiency rating (up to 98% of energy is converted to heat) and as pointed out above, the reduced loss of warm air either to the ceiling or through loading bays will be a compensating factor. In addition, it is possible to source electricity from renewable sources, making the infrared heating potentially a zero emissions system.
For a new facility, infrared heating avoids the capital cost of installing gas piping to supply heaters.
Fairburn Heating Solutions offer a range of robust infrared space heaters with different heat outputs from 1kW to 18kW which are easy to install and are ultra-low maintenance. The largest heater can heat up to 131.8 m2. The heaters and compatible controllers are supplied by Tansun, world leaders in radiant heating.
For example, the Apollo range of high powered heaters include a number of features designed to maximise performance including:
- Lightweight Aluminium profile keeps the heaters cool during operation and eliminates rust and discolouring.
- The shortwave technology is noiseless and generates no atmospheric pollution or dust movement
- Smooth, deep parabolic reflectors provide superior, consistent reflectivity through 100% of the reflector, ensuring uniformed heat coverage across a larger area.
- The dedicated bracketry provides flexibility of installation on either side walls or overhead and the swivel bracket (selected models) offer directional heat where required.
If more efficient heating, better working conditions, reduced capital and maintenance costs and support on your journey to net zero carbon emissions is of interest and you would like to investigate infrared heating as an option for your factory, warehouse or other commercial space, call us today on 01886 358025, send an email to totalsolutions@fairburnhs.com or use our web contact form.