Infrared Panel Heaters in a Workshop? 

Was thinking the same thing, but that does add cost. $67 for each sensor x 4, and they seem to be wide range presence sensors, so they may kick on even when he's not directly under the panels. This is already an expensive heating setup at $625 per panel, or $2500, so the sensors would add another $268. Wifi controlled outlets that could be controlled through the phone, or even simple switches or buttons at each station would probably be best so he can turn them on as needed. However, I imagine he's also using the heaters to slightly warm up the air temperature. When they shine on the floor, the floor absorbs the heat and slowly releases it into the air. His workshop isn't really well setup for this type of heating. His stations are too far apart so a single panel can only be used for one station specifically. If multiple stations were in a row where his standing/seating positions were the same, then one panel could be wall mounted perpendicular to that line and heat all of the stations. It doesn't look like he has a lot of wall space to wall mount currently, so he'd need to re-organize his workshop. IMO, that should be fine, put the storage in a single spot away from the heating since he likely won't spend much time standing there. Group the work stations closer to each other. Given how his space is currently setup, a mini-split heat pump system would probably work best, along with some circulation fans to blow the hot air down from the ceiling. A couple of smaller / cheaper panels where he spends most of his time sitting / standing for localized heating may work best, which would allow him to run the HVAC at a lower temp. I'm a bit confounded on why these IR panels are so expensive. They seem to be cheaper in Europe.

@@updlate4756 One of those presence sensors can identify 3-4 people simultaneously and individually by location in the room to the nearest foot. One sensor, 4 heaters, switch on an off heaters based on location at the moment.

Since heat rises why not place them on a wall? Is that not recommended

They're warm!

That does help a bit, but these heaters do not really heat the air, as strange as that may seem. These heaters produce very localized heating of surfaces with only a very small amount of heat energy transferred to the air. This is a hard concept to visualize, but it becomes very clear when you use one. Think about it like heat from light that you can't see! It is similar to how the Sun can feel warm on your skin while the air temperature is well below freezing. Sunlight has both visible and infrared light energy. These panels only output the invisible infrared portion of light energy.

@@professorg8383 I know exactly what infrared heaters do and how they work. Like stated I had some. Yes they do in a way heat the air under them, air doesn't suddenly disappear in those areas, it's still there. We used small, low power fans to gently move the air and it worked. No it didn't suddenly boost temperature to what it was under the heaters but it did get rid of the ultra cold spots

@@MNTNSTARZ80. It doesn't heat the air. It works the same way the sun works. It heats surfaces with infrared light, and that heat transfers to the air through conduction; energy transferred to the air as it crosses the surface and energy is transferred from object to air molecules. (Some of those sun wavelengths are absorbed by and warm the atmosphere, but that isn't the case with these panels.) Sure, you can move more heat away from the surfaces and into the air through conduction with a fan that constantly renews the cooler air coming into contact with the surface. While that's all well and good, it's not really the intention of this type of heating, and is using more energy by continuously running the fans, and will only conduct the amount of heat that went into the heating. Warm surfaces also emit IR, so there's a bit of benefit from that. Trying to use these heaters to heat the air has no efficiency benefit over using a solution that directly heats the air, like a coil / oil heater, which also often use fans to conduct the heat into the air. Oil radiator style heaters use fins to increase their surface area for more contact with the air. The point of these panels is to avoid wasting energy heating the air, and instead are meant to heat the individual and the area around them directly. Warm air energy is often wasted as that energy is transferred to surfaces or the air circulates out of the area/building where the heat goes to waste. The panels are great for if you spend 90% of time sitting at a desk or if you have locations you'll be for brief periods of time and don't want to warm up the entire space; like a bathroom or kitchen. Or maybe you want to put it over the bed to heat the bed, or run it over night, while keeping the HVAC turned down or even completely off. Personally, I'd rather have these panels be mobile so I can move them around. Most of my time at home is spent in my office, but I have a north side addition that I use as a tv room, but rarely use it. For those times I do, having a way to directly heat the couch and myself rather than heating up the entire room would be nice. The room itself has minimal insulation. That way I can keep the home HVAC temperature turned down to a minimum temperature; just warm enough to keep from causing damage to the house in the winter. For the bed, I have a heated mattress cover which essentially accomplishes the same thing. The benefit to the panel would probably be longer life. Heated mattress covers can die pretty quickly and basically become useless in the winter after that, leading to more waste in having to buy another.

he's not heating the air, He's creating radiation that heats the objects in the room. This works the same way as the old ceiling heat from the 60's-70's where cables were imbedded in the ceiling to heat the room. it feels like you're out in the sun.

@@kirksway1 yes, I said that. The point of my post was more about cost to run... and warming your feet is more comfy than warming your head.

yes, that would make geat insulation and help force the radiation down 😄

Sounds like he needed to install a fan to continuously circulate the hot air back down from the ceiling. Most heating solutions could benefit from a ceiling fan or circulation fan.

​@@updlate4756 Not really. I've worked and lived with multiple types of radiant heaters and heating systems. The electrical panel type are the worst of the lot for space heating and a forced convection patch wouldn't worked. A well designed hydronic floor system, especially in concrete is best and does well enough with natural convection but responds too slowly. In industrial areas, a gas fired radiant heater system in high bay buildings only works to the uneven high/low variance degree it does as the workers are dressed for conditions and are active. So radiant heating is fairly limited to best serve space heating applications, in my experience. That said, I agree with ceiling fans for central heating and cooling supplementation, especially for my cathedral ceilings...

chicks and reptiles live under those ir heatsourses basicly rubbing up on them for days on end , he might tan a little and there might be a verry slight hum eminating off the panel if its not made right or worn (same with fluoresnt lights) but other than that there shouldnt be any sideeffects , think he stands more of a chance to get blinded by one of his machines that are totally protected btw

if he pumps water from deep out of the lake on his property through a car radiator in his shop with some fans behind it he could cool the shop some , it whont be chilly but it would be cooler inside than outside , takes a lot of hose though to get to his shop from that pond/ lake and back , might need a pretty strong pump too to get the water to flow through that length a hose

He could do that or just ask Mr Cool to donate a heat pump so he can make a video of self installing it.

You are so right, it's nearly A/C season in TN now. :) I would really like a mini split but am not sure what will happen. I need to price them again to compare again.

Did you watch the video? He directly addressed this question.

Because…. They were free from the company.

i believe the heatpump aircon uses a LOT more energy

Heat pumps noy work when the temp is above 20 in the winter. Below that it runs on straight electric and I can tell you that isn’t cheap. Two of these is 1300 bucks can’t put in a new heat pump for that.

@@watahyahknownot as much.. they are really efficient I think

​@@lechatbotte.Your information is dated. A heat pump can operate in quite cold environments, and they are becoming extremely affordable.

IR isn't heat, it's a wave.. like light. IR hits objects, gets absorbed, and heats that object. Exactly like standing outside in the sunlight. Also, heat doesn't necessarily rise. Warm air rises because it is lighter than the cool air around it. If you warm the bottom half of a brick wall with sunlight (like if the top half was blocked by the shadow of a tree) the bottom half will be warm, and top half still at ambient temperature. There will be a small blending area in the middle due to heat conduction, but overall the heat will not "rise" from the bottom to top.

U r wrong