Experiences with infrared heaters

  • Erstellt am 2022-02-10 11:10:04

pagoni2020

2022-02-10 16:33:48
  • #1
Hello Hannelore & Peter,
I'll give it a try........
We have just installed an IR heating system in our new build, which is now up and running; I can't give you any long-term experience yet. Our concerns were similar to yours, for example, our neighbor’s new heat pump hums, and no one knows what will happen with it in 5-10 years.
We know the classic radiator heating over many years, most recently a few years of underfloor heating, and now IR. For us, underfloor heating would be at the very end of this list because we don’t like the inertia of the system. But we also didn’t want screed because of our solid wood floorboards in the house, but rather a dry construction.
By the way, I won’t bother calculating anything for you here; others can do that better :D

We also had various concerns but can already say that the type of heat is not noticeable to us at all; it is pleasantly warm, you can adjust it as you wish, and that’s it. Maybe I already have calluses everywhere or I am just that numb... also possible.
Certainly, a heat pump is an extremely sensible system, but since unfortunately dropped out here with his great house with wood stove + IR heating, there are probably hardly any new builders left who haven’t opted for a heat pump. The few gas heaters here are being bullied :D (just to be sure, I’m marking this as a humorous remark).
We must not forget that heat pumps have been very highly subsidized, and many have probably only installed certain technologies because of that. Without this high subsidy, we would probably have 70% less controlled residential ventilation and 50% less heat pumps, at least that’s my rough estimate. If IR heating were subsidized, people would buy it just as much and generally consider it good, I’m sure of that.

Originally, I wanted to share my system here as well, self-critically, but then I decided against it, because anything other than heat pumps is usually immediately dismissed and basically seen as nonsense, at least that’s my impression.
Unfortunately, you find very little diversity here, yet there is definitely a justification for other heating systems. Recently, someone mentioned window heating here once; he also gave up on it, but for that, you find trillions of calculations of heat pumps and underfloor heating with reports of endless meetings and programming problems, where I always tune out immediately because I just want targeted warmth. Certainly interesting and also good, but not the only option on this planet.

A geothermal drilling was not possible, plus we had an unreliable general contractor, and when I look at the underfloor heating and heat pump with our installer, I get dizzy. Everything was set to "auto," and questions couldn’t be answered. We also didn’t want an expensive service contract for the heat pump.
So far, we are quite happy with this simply functioning heating system, it cost us less than €8,000, follow-up costs zero. One glass module broke during installation, was immediately replaced free of charge and installed in 10 minutes; parts were lost on site, also delivered free of charge afterwards. I would have at least wished for such service from one of the other trades, besides the stair builder.
We have a photovoltaic system, which will finally be connected next week, plus a battery. That can also be calculated back and forth, but we did it anyway because we like it that way and don’t decide exclusively based on calculations.

We also consciously decided against underfloor heating in the new build. I like nice radiators on the wall that I can turn on or off as needed; now we mostly have glass elements, some of which are recessed in the ceiling.
With underfloor heating, due to its inertia, I often had to open all the windows when the sun was shining outside to "heat out" the house; what nonsense. We also wanted to be able to heat the guest room spontaneously when having visitors or the like, which underfloor heating doesn’t allow either. Finally, a wood stove is often difficult to combine with underfloor heating, so for that reason, it was definitively ruled out, since we had a frequently used stove in mind.

Regardless, we installed an air conditioning system because I don’t like the heat in summer. Such an air conditioning system is also a heat pump, so I can additionally use it as a heat provider. The heat pump experts here will tell you that the air-to-air heat pump is the worst idea of all and is basically a hairdryer, but I don’t feel that way. The same people would therefore get blow-dried in their cars all day, right? So now we have various heating options: wood stove, IR heating, and air conditioning/heat pump plus winter sweaters. For hot water, we have a domestic hot water heat pump from Vaillant, a standalone unit that has worked well so far; I like it.
What many calculations overlook is the point of what I personally feel comfortable with, both in terms of the type of heat generation, handling, and also follow-up costs. The respective occupants differ greatly in their heating behavior, and sometimes when I read here, I don’t recognize my own behavior.
There are modern architects who implement exactly such systems in stylish new builds, there are energy consultants and engineering offices (less so in Saxony :D) who will recommend this to you anytime and have references, and there are, besides the many fairground vendors of IR heating, also manufacturers who supply specialized trade with complete solutions.

What I’d like to offer you is to have a phone call so that I can tell you more in detail; you can also visit me if you are in Saxony and want to have a look. For that, you would need to send your contact somehow, private messages don’t work for you here yet.

We asked the energy consultant about KfW55, and he then brought us KfW40+.
 

Hamburch

2022-02-10 16:34:00
  • #2
As I understand IR heaters, they only work quite locally and do not warm the air but the body. This has clear advantages outdoors because the heat is not "blown away." In living spaces, however, they are unsuitable as the sole heat source in my opinion, or is my above understanding incorrect?
 

pagoni2020

2022-02-10 16:42:05
  • #3
My feeling is different; I do not feel "radiated" by the warmth at all. By the way, currently not a single heating element is running; apparently, the insulation of the house works quite well. We don’t feel where the heat is coming from, it is simply pleasantly warm. I even bought a temperature measuring device especially for this purpose so I can virtually "shoot up" to the ceiling to see if or which elements are currently running. They are programmed anyway, or there is a thermostat so that they turn on when they’re supposed to. But as I said, I am far from trying to convert anyone... I’m just reporting from current experience and am happy to answer questions about it.
 

altoderneu

2022-02-10 17:06:40
  • #4

shouldn't you first change the installer then?


a heating system that DOES NOT need expensive energy?

can you tell me more about that!
 

PeterPaule

2022-02-10 17:18:03
  • #5
Wow, what a response...

Many thanks to all of you, especially !! That helps us tremendously.

Unfortunately, we are not from Saxony, we have ended up in the far north (but thanks for the offer :D). Nevertheless, many thanks for your detailed reporting. We also imagine this warmth to be anything but unpleasant. But of course, that is subjective perception.

We have also experienced that the heat from the underfloor heating needs some time to be "blown out." It also takes a similarly long time for it to heat the entire house in the first place. Fine-tuning is also somewhat difficult here. With the infrared heating, it sounds quite different.

So thank you very much first of all for the broad and numerous feedback, that's a lot of input :D

Best regards in sunny weather

Peter and Hannelore
 

PeterPaule

2022-02-10 17:21:20
  • #6
Oh yes, regarding the missing follow-up costs, of course we are more than curious as well..
 

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