Make your room a 360° radiator

Herschel infrared directly heats the walls, floor and ceiling of a building (the ‘thermal mass’). Once the thermal mass is warm, the building itself retains the heat for a period of time, so the heater only needs to be on to top up.

Most of other forms of heaters are convection heaters which primarily heat volumes of air, which then has to transfer its heat to the building in order to warm the thermal mass. The problem is, hot air rises to the ceiling (where you don’t want it) and easily escapes with draughts and open doors. The direct transfer of heat to the building is why Herschel is more efficient and saves energy compared to convection heating.

It also more comfortable because you don’t have cold floors and stuffy air.

Is Infrared Heating Efficient?

Because convection heaters heat air, even the best market-leading “low consumption” digital electric convection radiators need around 110 Watts per 100ft³ in order to support inefficient heat absorption by the air and its poor energy transfer back out again.

Herschel infrared panels do not heat the air and so typically only need 70 Watts per 100ft³. You may be forgiven for thinking a kilowatt of energy must possess the same heat transfer properties whether emitted by a convection or radiant heater, but this is not correct. Radiant heat has a higher rate of heat transfer per kilowatt than convection, so you need less of it.

Both Herschel and electric convectors run for around 40% of the required heating period (often referred to as the “effective power”), but the basic difference in heat transfer means Herschel could save up to 37% on electricity costs compared to convection and night storage heaters.

See how Infrared lines up against the alternatives when all cost factors involved (purchase, installation, running, maintenance, replacement) are considered over the life of the heater.