Radiant heating is a technology for heating indoor and outdoor areas. Radiant heating consists of "radiant energy" being emitted from a heat source.
Radiant heating heats a building through radiant heat, rather than other conventional methods including
convection heatingA convection heater is a heater which operates by air convection currents circulating through the body of the appliance, and across its heating element. This heats up the air, causing it to increase in area....
. The technology has existed since the Roman use of
HypocaustA hypocaust is an ancient Roman system of central heating. The word literally means "heat from below", from the Greek hypo meaning below or underneath, and kaiein, to burn or light a fire...
heating. Underfloor radiant heating has long been widespread in China and Korea.
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Radiant heating is a technology for heating indoor and outdoor areas. Radiant heating consists of "radiant energy" being emitted from a heat source.
Radiant heating heats a building through radiant heat, rather than other conventional methods including
convection heatingA convection heater is a heater which operates by air convection currents circulating through the body of the appliance, and across its heating element. This heats up the air, causing it to increase in area....
. The technology has existed since the Roman use of
HypocaustA hypocaust is an ancient Roman system of central heating. The word literally means "heat from below", from the Greek hypo meaning below or underneath, and kaiein, to burn or light a fire...
heating. Underfloor radiant heating has long been widespread in China and Korea. The heat energy is emitted from a warm element (floor, wall, overhead panel) and warms people and other objects in rooms rather than directly heating the air. The internal air temperature for radiant heated buildings may be lower than for a conventionally heated building to achieve the same level of body comfort (when adjusted so the perceived temperature is actually the same).
In the case of outdoor areas, the surrounding air is constantly moving, making conventional
patio heaterA patio heater is an appliance for generating radiant heat for outdoor use.A burner on top of a post, burns LPG or propane, and directs the flames against a perforated metal screen. Heat is radiated from the surface of the screen in a circular pattern around the appliance...
s (also known as "mushroom heaters"), which rely partly on convection heating, impractical. The reason being, that once you heat the outside air, it will blow away with air movement. Outdoor radiant heaters allow specific spaces within an outdoor area to be targeted, warming only the people and objects in their path.
The radiant heating systems can be divided into:
- underfloor heating
Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling which uses heat conduction and radiant heat or cold for indoor climate control, rather than forced air heating which relies on convection...
systems - electric or hydronic
- wall heating systems
- radiant ceiling (overhead) panels
- overhead gas fired radiant heaters
Underfloor and wall heating systems often are called low-temperature systems. Because their heating surface is much larger than with other systems, a much lower temperature is required to achieve the same level of heat transfer. The maximum temperature of the heating surface can vary from 29-35°C (84-95°F) depending on the room type. Radiant overhead panels are mostly used in production and warehousing facilities or sports centers; they hang a few meters above the floor and their surface temperature is much higher.
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