What Size Heater Do I Need?

Just as you would expect, larger rooms need larger, more powerful, heaters: you can’t realistically heat a whole village hall using only 160 Watt heaters!

We offer a vast range of sizes and styles of heaters because there is no such thing as ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to infrared heating. Your bedroom might need 700W of heat while a similarly sized workshop might need something different.

But why?

In this article, we will dive into the fundamentals of how an infrared heater works, what this means for you and how to ensure you get the best possible heater available for your space.

How It Works

Infrared works a little differently to the other heaters you’ve probably seen before. It doesn’t push air around the room like a standard convection heater, in fact, it doesn’t directly heat the air at all.

Imagine you’re turning on a torch, when you turn it on, rays of light come out and travel through the air until they hit a surface like:

• the walls
• the floor
• people
• pets

The rays bounce off and the surface is now lit up.

Infrared heaters work the same way but with rays of infrared heat, if a torch can light up a room, infrared can heat that room..

What Does This Mean For You?

Infrared heating is incredibly diverse thanks to it being a type of ‘direct heat.’ The technology can heat almost any kind of space, the only things to look out for are:

• available mounting space (floor, ceiling, floor)
• your personal preferences (type, aesthetics, amount)

However, the #1 rule is that there is enough infrared heat (in Watts) in the space – more space means more Wattage, which means a larger heater.

Our wall-mounted Platinum range of heaters, for example, varies in sizes from:

• 350W – 605 x 605mm
• 450W – 605 x 705mm
• 580W – 605 x 1005mm
• 700W – 605 x 1205mm
• 900W – 755 x 1205mm
• 1100W – 905 x 1205mm

How do we know the right wattage for your space? If a room was 20m³, it would need along the lines of these wattages, as outlined in the below table.

Personalisation

Wall-mounted heaters aren’t limited to simple plain white panels heaters. You can choose from:

• LED fireplaces
• stock images
• mirrors
• coloured glass
• bespoke pictures

Not many people can say their wedding pictures heat the living room as well.

What’s The Best Way To Find What I need?

Our website has an online wattage calculator and an online panel finder to help narrow down your options but to make sure you get nothing but the best we can offer, get in touch with us directly.

Whether it’s over the phone at 01205 821 796, via email at [email protected] or even just through the website’s chat function, the team will be eagerly waiting to offer some advice.

FAQ

Can 1 heater heat an entire room?

Yes, 1 heater can heat an entire room. The only requirement is that it is high-powered enough to match the room’s requirements.

Does ceiling height affect the wattage required?

Yes, the ceiling height of the room will affect the overall required wattage because infrared heating is based on the volume of a space. However, if your heaters are closer to the ground, or suspended down, you can heat the lower part of the room without wasting any heat to an unoccupied ceiling.

Can I use several smaller panels instead of 1 panel?

Yes you can! Two 350W heaters kick out the same amount of heat as one 700W heater, and even have the added bonus of a wider heat spread.

Does insulation affect how many heaters i need?

Yes, insulation does affect the necessary wattage and therefore can impact the number of heaters you’ll need. The better the insulation, the lower the necessary wattage.

Conclusion

The size of an infrared heater correlates with the power it offers so a smaller heater is going to be more effective in a smaller space, and a larger heater will be more effective in a larger space.

All things considered, independent research can sometimes be difficult, so if you have any doubts at all or just want to double-check your findings, don’t hesitate to get in touch!