Shop Heat Infared ?

[Andrew Joiner]

Anyone using infared heat? I read that you don't need insulation,cause it heats objects not air.

Is this true? I would think insulation must help, because once the objects( people ,cast iron tops, concrete floor) are heated the heat won't escape.

Yet ,infared heat is used outside.

[Craig Coney]

I have 3 electric 1500 Watt IR units hung from the ceiling.

My shop is also insulated. The insulation does make a big difference. I can turn the IR heaters off once the temperature gets comfortable and work a few hours without turning them back on.

[Andrew Joiner]

Thanks Craig, How big is your shop? How high are the ceilings?

[Jim Becker]

While radiant heating (which I currently use) does only heat objects, the whole shebang is a lot more efficient if you do have insulation. The air does get warmer as the objects that are being heated by the radiant heaters get warm and in turn, warm the air. After a few hours, my shop will easily rise from the 40s to the upper 60s with no problem.

[Andrew Joiner]

Hi Jim,
How big is your shop? How high are the ceilings? Do you use gas or electric?

Thanks

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Andrew,

I owned a house a while back, that had IR in the ceiling. It worked ok, but I really got tired of feeling like I was in the sun all the time. Wierd sensation to describe, but you can feel the radiation just enough that it bugged me. Also, it never seemed warm, either too hot or too cold.

Shops are different of course, and we have a farm shop with overhead propane IR heaters. The ones we have would be a horrible fit for a wood shop, they burn shop air, but they work ok in the metal fab shop. The guys like them too, they are campaigning for more. Seems to me that good ceiling height is needed to so that you don't get intense zones of heat and cold. Our shops are insulated, but the doors open and close a lot, making drafts, and I think the radient working on the big slab floor does help keep the working temperature better in the winter.

I still prefer forced air, but thats just me.

[David G Baker]

I have a 220 volt wall infrared tube heater in one of my buildings. I have never left it on to see how well it would heat the building. I use it to warm myself up by standing close to it when working in the building. The building has some 1 inch foam on the walls but no insulation in the ceiling yet. I am sure that it would keep the building warm if it was well insulated. I am a firm believer in insulating the heck out of every thing, I just haven't finished this building, when I do it will be insulated to the max. Insulation is the cheapest way to heat or cool a building economically.

[Chris Damm]

You only have to insulate once, so it should be the first thing done. My shop (625 sq. ft.-9.5' ceilings) is heated with an oil filled space heater set on the lowest power setting and no. 2 on the dial. It keeps my shop at about 50 deg. and when I turn on the lights (9 2 bulb 8' fixtures) it takes about 1 hour to warm up to 60 deg. My shop is insulated with 3 1/2" fiberglass + 1 1/2" foam in the walls and 6" fiberglass and 1 1/2" foam in the ceiling. I am located about 3 miles from Lake Michigan and it does get cold and windy here.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Andrew, all the energy that your heaters radiate will be lost to the air in the building.

Once you, or your tablesaw are above the ambient air temperature, you become a radiator and radiate your heat into the air.

To heat your shop efficiently you need to insulate, and control the amount of air that is exchanged with the outside.

This of course means sealing all the leaks in your building, and then being able to control how much air is exchanged by opening a window a slight amount for example.

Radiant heat is also line of sight, if a workbench blocks the IR waves from striking a glue up you've placed on the floor, the glue up won't be warmed by the IR heater.

Regards, Rod.

[Craig Coney]

Andrew
800 SF, 12' high ceilings