Shahid, one of our recent customers, saved a massive £1,378.09 on his annual heating bills by switching to our infrared heating system. Here is the floor plan for the ground floor of Shahid’s very well insulated, modern, 4 bedroom home.
Kitchen/Diner
Shahid has a large open plan kitchen diner, which can be difficult to heat. This is where his family like to spend most of their time cooking, eating and socialising, so it’s important that this space is kept nice and warm. Furthermore, kitchens can quickly get super hot when ovens are on and food is being cooked so having individual infrared panels that you can switch off as soon as your oven is toasty, is a great way of minimising wasted energy.
We installed 3 x 550w Frameless Ceiling Mounted Infrared Panels in Shahid’s Kitchen/Diner. With a larger room area and wattage requirement, it’s a good idea to split this between multiple infrared panels to achieve the most even heat distribution.1650 watts split between 3 panels was slightly more heat than required, but this ensured the room where Shahid spends most time was thoroughly covered.
Convection cost: 65p/ hour. Infrared cost: 40p/ hour. That's a 38.5% saving.
Living Room
Shahid has a large family and they also like to spend a lot of their time together in the lounge. We installed 2 x 550w Frameless panels. The sleek, low profile frameless panels seamlessly blend in with any decor and when mounted on a ceiling you’ll forget they’re even there! Custom image panels are a great option for living rooms, blending any artwork or image of your choice with a smart, efficient heating system. Offering the ultimate in discreet heat.
Convection cost: 44p / hour. Infrared cost: 27p/ hour. That’s a 47.9% saving.
Hall
Shahid opted for 1 550w Frameless Infrared panel in his hallway. This is slightly below the required infrared wattage, however, hallways don’t necessarily need lots of heating as you are only really ever passing through this area. So Shahid was happy with the 1 panel. Infrared mirrors are a great option for hallways as they help to make the space feel larger whilst adding a touch of style.
Convection cost: 24p/hour Infrared: 13p/hour. That’s a 59.5% saving.
Bedrooms 1 & 2
Here is the floor plan for the first floor of Shahid's very well insulated, modern, 4 bedroom home.
Bedrooms 1 & 2 are very similar in size so we have combined the two for the sake of this study. Bedrooms tend to be cooler than other rooms in the home but it’s important that they are still heated effectively. Shahid opted for 2 x 450w Frameless IR panels in each bedroom. By connecting to our wireless thermostat system, Shahid can set timers so that his IR panels turn on at specific times to ensure the rooms are nice and toasty in the morning.
Convection: 35p/hour. Infrared: 22p/hour. That’s a 45.6% saving.
Bedrooms 3 & 4
We installed a ceiling mounted 550w Frameless IR panel in bedroom 3 and a 450w Frameless IR panel in bedroom 4. Ceiling mounted panels allow for optimal heat distribution and will heat the objects, surfaces, and people under them, creating a nice warm, inviting bed.
Bed 3 convection: 23p/hour Infrared: 13p/hour
Bed 4 convection: 20p/hour Infrared: 11p/hour
That’s a 56.72% saving over bedrooms 3 & 4.
Bathroom
We over specified the wattage in the bathroom to ensure a powerful warmth straight out of the shower. The beauty of infrared is, it will take the cold touch off the walls and tiled surfaces. Bathrooms are a perfect setting for Infrared mirrors. It’s a sleek mirror available with LED backlight that blends seamlessly into any decor and with an IP65 rating they are splash proof and safe to use in all bathrooms. All panels are at least IP54 rated.
Convection: 11p/hour Infrared: 11p/hour.
Even over specified, the running cost is the same as it would be for convection heating.
En Suite
We also over specified the wattage in the en suite to ensure all the cold, hard surfaces are warmed thoroughly. Shahid and his wife frequently avoided using their en suite shower as the cold tiled floor was unpleasant on their feet and a nasty surprise stepping out of the shower. Now, they have fallen back in love with this cosy space.
Convection: 9p/hour Infrared: 8p/hour
Even over specified, there is an 11.8% saving.
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Now, lets take a look at the costs. Shahid’s £1,378.09 saving is based on the assumption he used his heating for 6 hours per day between September - March. If he were to use it all year round, the savings would be even greater!
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Costs Breakdown
Here is a breakdown of the costs if Shahid was to use his heating for 6 hours per day for 365 days of the year.
*Electricity Price: £0.245p/kWh
*Gas Price: £0.062p/kWh
As seen in “Table 1”, the yearly consumption of infrared heaters and running costs are dramatically lower than that of convection heating.
As seen in “Table 2” Infrared heaters require significantly less watts than convection heaters for the same space.
Day by Day Breakdown
Using all of your infrared heating panels for 1 hour would cost £1.94.
Using all of your convection heaters for 1 hour would cost £3.02.
Using a 35kW Gas Boiler for 1 hour would cost £2.17.
Comparing with Gas Central Heating
Infrared is one of, in not the most efficient methods of electric heating. While the unit price per kWh for gas, is cheaper than electricity, infrared can still save you money compared to a gas heating system. Shahid would need a (35kW) boiler to heat his home effectively as he has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 6 people living in the home. At the time of writing the electricity price is £0.245p/kWh and gas is £0.062p/kWh. Shahid’s boiler would cost £2.17/hour to run. Compared to £1.94/hour for infrared.
Context
On the assumption the heating is on for 6 hours a day between September - March, infrared would save £296.45 on heating bills. However, this is if you were running all the infrared panels at once in the least efficient way possible. Infrared allows zoned heating, enabling you to only heat the rooms in your home that are occupied and avoid wasted energy. Boilers aren’t flexible and will constantly use the full capacity of their power, pushing heat through to every pipe and room in your home.
Furthermore, IR panels will almost never be turned on and consuming power for the full hour. Infrared heats the room to the target temp in 15 to 20 minutes. Once the room is up to temperature, the smart thermostat feature constantly reads the room temperature and switches the panel on and off accordingly in order to maintain the desired temperature. Meaning the panel is only likely to be on for around 40 minutes of the full hour. Further contributing to energy savings.
Infrared panels can be powered with renewable energy sources like solar PV to achieve a fully sustainable heating system and saving you even more on your energy bills!
Final Thoughts
It was a pleasure carrying out this work on Shahid’s home. This serves as a real-life example of the immense energy saving potential of infrared heating compared to alternative methods such as gas central heating and electric convection heating.
If you're interested in receiving similar guidance for outfitting a room or your entire home, please don't hesitate to contact us. You can reach us by phone at 0333 090 7160 to initiate the process. Alternatively, feel free to send us an email at info@infraredgroup.co.uk, and we'll be delighted to assist you in getting started.
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