Save with Infrared Heating!

According to a 2014 piece by Energiaoldal (a Hungarian energy website), you can save with infrared heating because radiant heating does not warm the air but directly the objects and people, and installation is simple. The basic principle still holds today; we do not adopt the article's unsourced percentage and its physiological claim, however, and the film presented in it as a novelty has since gone through several development stages.

The original article: Energiaoldal – Spórolj infrafűtéssel! (Save with infrared heating!). Below we summarise it briefly in our own words, and add what it means today.

What did Energiaoldal write?

• Conventional heating warms the air, and the body feels the heat only through the air – according to the article, this is where the extra household spending comes from.
• Infrared heating works on a principle similar to solar radiation: invisible infrared radiation warms the surfaces and the body, which is why the article considered it more efficient.
• Because it does not move the air, it stirs up less dust; the article also mentioned this as an advantage for allergy sufferers.
• According to the article, installation took at most 1 day, no walls had to be drilled for pipes or heaters, and the installer took care of the components.

At that time the article presented the second-generation heatflow heating film as a novelty. We left out the percentage on installation cost, which had no point of comparison, and the health claim referring to anions, because we found no reliable source for either.

What does this mean today?

The working principle has not changed

Heating film built into the floor or ceiling gives off heat by radiation: the surfaces warm up, so the air does not have to be heated as much for the same thermal sensation. How much saving this gives depends on the insulation of the house, the use of the rooms and the control – you will find real data on our page on consumption.

You cannot save with a tariff, however: according to MVM Optimum, the preferential H tariff in Hungary is for heat pump heating, and cannot be used for infrared panels or other heating that produces heat directly from electricity, so not for heating film either.

The technology has developed further

Instead of the film in the 2014 article, today we install 4th-generation heating film. We give a 15.5-year warranty on 4th-generation heating film if we carry out the installation. Our company has worked with infrared heating since 2012.

Installation is still quick today, but not uniform

There is still no need to run pipes or mount radiators; the film needs electrical wiring and a thermostat. The time needed depends on the number of rooms and the floor covering, so we can say it after the on-site survey.

Infrared panel or heating film?

Radiant heating can also be done with a panel mounted on the wall or ceiling. The differences between the two solutions are presented on our page on infrared panels and heating film. Installation is available in Hungary.