PowerSwitch

Hi everyone, I've finally made the decision to install a Vertical Wind Turbine on the roof and it is planned to have it installed next week. (The location isn't perfect but the size of the site means it can only go on the roof for planning permissions reasons.)

But that is not the reason for this post.... my quest to make my house more energy efficient continues: - I want to get to a point where my heating costs are eliminated by winter 2010/11. I cut my electricity cost significantly with the solar panels and the VAWT should cut that a lot more so I'm looking for the next step.

To recap (and save you going back through all my posts ), I already have:
1. flat panel solar water heating (when the sun can get enough rays through the clouds...should have opted for the vacuum tubes!!! )
2. a wood stove (space heating only, not water heating) and
3. next week will have my VAWT.

To make the most efficient use of the power coming from the VAWT I need to cut down my heating costs (upstairs only has electric heat).
I'm looking at the option of these infrared heaters with ceramic heating elements. Has anyone on this forum got any experience of infrared heaters??
The wattage looks much lower than other heater types I've looked at. Anyone know if the heat output is sufficient or will I be plugging in other heaters every day?

The heat you get out is equal to the power rating. All electrical heating elements are 100% efficient, more or less by definition.

If the rated wattage is lower, then the heat output is proportionately lower. End of story.

The only issue is the quality of heat. Radiant heat, from high temperature elements or open flame fires, etc., feels warmer when you are directly in front of it, because the radiation heats you directly, not so much the air in the room. Lower temperature options like central heating systems, heat the air in the room (space heating) and give a more even heat through out.

I guess a ceramic element is likely to be primarily a radiant heat source.
(I read their spin is that the emission wavelength is optimised to match peak absorption by organic materials - ie you).

Insulation?

Adam1 wrote:Insulation?

Definitely. And daftproofing. Also, if you have a bathroom that tensd to get damp so you have to open the window, it'd be worth getting one of these (we had one in our previous house and I can vouch for how much of a difference they make. And all for about 200 quid).

Underfloor heating is the best: kitchen and bathroom, you can even connect it directly to your WT.

As others post, all electric heaters are virtually 100% efficient.
Directional infra red heaters have the advantage that the heat may be directed to exactly where required, and may therefore seem more effective.
I use infra red heat lamps, these are available in clear, which gives a lot of light as well, or in red for when excessive light is to be avoided.

Electric heating is a good use for wind power, but you will need quite a large turbine to supply much heating.
1KW is about the minimum to do much good, and that means a winter average of 1KW , not a brief peak in output that is achieved for only a few hours a year.

we have a local bunch of feck wits that claim to be eco gurus who are selling this tech and claim (erroneously) that it has a COP of 3!!

ndon wrote:we have a local bunch of feck wits that claim to be eco gurus who are selling this tech and claim (erroneously) that it has a COP of 3!!

Agree, directional infra red heaters can be useful, but certainly cant produce more heat output than the electrical input. That would be contary to the basic laws of physics.

The only electrical heating appliance that can produce more heat into a house etc than the electrical input is a heat pump.
These do not break the laws of physics since the "extra" heat is not created out of nothing, but is extracted from the outside air/water/earth.