Infrared Heating Customer Review:

26-04-2018

Infrared Heating Customer Review: Combined with Solar for a sustainable, Cost Neutral Heating System

Our customer has installed Herschel Inspire panels throughout his home, alongside solar PV, creating a very comfortable and sustainable eco country house which is cost neutral to run and a healthy environment for his family to live in.

Background

The main house was poorly insulated and very draughty with an old-fired boiler and convection radiators. There were also four small cottages using old night storage heaters. It had an existing 50kW PV Solar Array on a barn that was not connected to the house.

Solution

The customer considered other heating options and these were all ruled out for various reasons including prohibitive capital costs of ground-source heating, concerns over the lifetime and uncontrollability of underfloor heating and also night storage heaters as they are not that controllable.

Herschel Inspire panels were installed throughout, with ceilings colour matched to the panel providing a stylish and discreet, space-saving solution. Herschel infrared mirror heaters also provide a dual function for heating bathrooms.

Testimonial

Mark outlines “What I like about Herschel’s infrared heating panels”

1. There is no wasted energy

• as soon as you turn them on they start heating the room and as soon as the desired temperature is reached they switch off

• there is no boiler/pumps running all the time, losing heat in pipes with slow reaction times

• each room is always at the desired temperature at the right time

2. Comfort and improved air quality

• we have not felt cold all winter even when temperatures dropped below -5°C

• there is noticeably less dust

• there has been no condensation or any damp feeling throughout the house, including the basement

• silent, the system makes no noise

3. Cost effective and very easy to install

• the complete system, with 18 zones, was 8 times less to purchase and install than a new ground source, underfloor heating system

• there are no ongoing maintenance or service charges

Mark installed a further 8 panels, in 1 day, to the let cottages to replace the old 3.4kW night storage heaters. Mark has already noticed a 30% reduction in energy used in the cottages despite March being one of the coldest on record.

Running Costs

“Electricity is currently 3 times the price of oil and gas but I have found that throughout this past winter we have been more than 3 times efficient while being warmer and more comfortable than even my wife expected”.

The electricity generated over the course of last year was enough to offset his entire electric running costs for the entire site plus make a small return from the let cottages of +£400*.

Summary

Mark was “amazed at how cheap it was compared to all the other systems” given the features and benefits profile of Herschel heating. “The Herschel solution ticked all the boxes and was competitive against alternative heating options, significantly so in many cases”.

Able to control each room to the desired temperatures from a low energy solution, Mark runs a CO2 neutral heating system alongside his solar PV supply.