Whether we are in the family room, living room, or another living space of your home during those cooler months, warming up a space instantly creates a cozy and relaxing environment – how does that impact my electric bill?
What is infrared heat?
We are familiar with infrared technology in our daily lives; we just don’t think about it too much. It has been around for several decades, just reimagined into some of today’s daily use cases.
An infrared heating system is also called a “radiant heater,” which is one of three types of heat transfer. The other options include convection heaters and conduction, typically used in specialized ovens and cooking appliances.
The word “radiant” or “radiation” rings alarm bells for some people, but infrared radiation is 100% safe. Our own bodies emit it.
This eco-friendly form of infrared light is invisible to us, although we can feel the heat energy similar to the sun.
How does infrared heat work?
Infrared heaters work by emitting an invisible ultraviolet (UV) light that warms a surface — creating a natural heat sensation without drying the surrounding air. It distributes targeted heat at a single point of need. Other forms have a broad-spectrum delivery to empty or inefficient spaces within a room—infrared forms part of the electromagnetic spectrum of light.
Infrared quartz benefits
There are numerous benefits to utilizing infrared heaters. These must-have heaters include solid functionality and smart safety features in addition to the following:
- Efficiency – Even heat distribution. Proven to quickly warm rooms up to 1,000 square feet. Also, it provides energy-saving heating methods to reduce the total utility bill and heating costs. See our cost calculator utility (in watts and kilowatts).
- Durability – Extended lifetime of use — estimated at more than 20k+ hours or long periods.
- Air Quality – Healthier air quality heat by retaining higher oxygen and moisture levels.
- Applications – Can be applied to space heaters, electric heaters, central heating systems, etc.
- Lifestyle – Improved quality of life benefits such as air quality and less stress about utility bill payments due to low cost and efficiency (to name a few) align with the best-infrared heaters. They improve our daily life and use less energy than traditional, improving health benefits and ensuring better living.
Infrared quartz heater within an electric fireplace
Most electric fireplaces have built-in heaters. This is an added value when thinking about the product within your family’s atmosphere or living space. Marketing claims that raised humidity levels are something to avoid with “less than stellar” electric fireplaces in the bedroom.
Using an infrared heater rather than a forced-air heating system can keep air from drying out quite as fast. The Infrared heater will not be a viable replacement for a humidifier. Also, heaters that are not controlled by a thermostat are not recommended as the lack of temperature control can negatively impact your utility bill and overall heating element investment.
Infrared heating and electric fireplaces can be used as a domestic and commercial, energy-efficient alternative to natural gas and propane. Despite being able to purchase solid fuel infrared heaters, we recommend using electric infrared panels in the home.
When buying a luxury electric fireplace such as MagikFlame, the built-in infrared quartz electric fireplace insert has 5,200 BTU — Be sure to calculate out your living space to understand if the secondary infrared heat source costs for your individual living space.
MagikFlame is a luxury manufacturer that has thought through all of these details in advance and is confident with the secondary warm air delivered from the premium products.
Summary
Infrared heaters are worth their value. They are an efficient, quick way to heat objects and stay toasty in a living space. Independently, they fall short as the primary source for heating large rooms as things quickly cool off once the heater is turned off.
A combination of premium electric fireplaces, such as MagikFlame, delivers a built-in heater with a thermostat that includes a smartphone app for convenience and control (although the heater is not controllable via the app; the flames and other functions are).
Be sure to test your utility bill through the MagikFlame cost calculator to help make a more informed decision about electric bill savings.
