Ambi-Rad - Gas Fired Low Intensity Infrared Heating Systems

This page is designed to provide you with a better understanding
behind radiant heating technology and explore some of the benefits
of a radiant heating system over a forced air system.

Radiant heating heats in the same manner that the sun warms the earth. The sun's infrared rays strike the earth, objects and people. The radiant energy is absorbed and each object becomes a heat reservoir, which then heats the ambient air. An example of this is a car that is left in the sun will be warmer and dry more quickly than a car left in the shade because the sun's infrared rays are heating the car's surface directly. The car left in the shade is being warmed by the ambient air and will not dry as rapidly.

Each radiant heater incorporates highly reflective steel reflectors, which are mounted in such a way as to permit free thermal expansion, and are easily detachable for cleaning, or whenever access is required. The gas burner fires into one end of the emitter tube. The emitter tubes are heated by the passage of hot combustion gases and the hot tubes emit infra-red radiant heat, which is directed downwards by the reflector towards the occupied workspace.

What Ambi-Rad has perfected is the ability to bring the sun's warmth indoors. Turning on a radiant heater results in the warmth being felt quickly. Radiant energy directly heats surfaces and not the surrounding air, so it it also, is an economical form of heating.

What is the difference between conventional forced air systems and radiant tube heating ?

Warm Air	vs	Radiant Heat
Warm air heaters heat air which then warms the surroundings where people work. In buildings where doors are opened regularly, high air change rates occur which result in extremely high heat losses.		Radiant heat is not absorbed by the air, so it ideal for buildings which have high air change rates. Radiant heat offers considerable energy savings over warm air systems, especially under otherwise difficult conditions.
Directing heat to working areas is difficult with warm air heaters. Consequently, a garage heated by warm air will have cold spots at the working level and wastfully high temperatures at the roof.		Radiant heat is transmitted by infra-red waves waves and is directional. Correct location of rad- iant heaters ensures that cold spots are avoided.
Drafts and natural convection currents make it difficult to control warm air movement within a building. As warm air rise to areas where it is not benefical, heating costs also rise.		Zone control of radiant heaters permits flexible management, allowing selected areas of the work- shop to be heated to different temperatures as required.
Hot air rises. Therefore the roof of a workshop heated with warm air will be substantially hotter than the working area beneath. Poor roof insulation, a common problem in older build- ings, will allow this heat to escape, further increasing fuel costs.		Radiant heaters minimize roof heat losses by directing heat downwards to the area that requires the heating.
Warm air heats workshop space slowly. In order to be effective it is necessary to heat all the air in the building. While the air gets to the required temperature, extra fuel is burned and the work force remains cold.		Radiant heat warms up cold bodies directly without heating the whole building. Consequently, radiant heating responds more quickly than warm air to the needs of a workshop. The shorter warm up periods save fuel and allow the heating system to match flexible, modern working arrangements.
Warm air heaters rely on movement of air to heat the work space. In areas where cleaniness is essential for production and other work, drafts from a hot air blower will stir up unwanted dirt and dust. In addition, rapid air movement actually has a cooling effect on the body.		Radiant heating does not circulate air, therefore airborne particles are reduced