Electric heating: modern 2019 radiators

The technologies of electric heaters on the market in 2019: what to choose for your project?

Heating a home fromrenewable energies significantly reduces electricity costs. Unfortunately, many are those who cannot opt ​​for heating solutions running on RE (Renewable Energies) because of the incompatibility of these types of devices with their property. In the event that you cannot take advantage of thesolar energy, wind energy or geothermal energy to heat the interior of your home, know that you can always save money by turning to new generation radiators.

The latter consume much less energy than traditional "toasters" and embed various technologies to significantly improve the thermal comfort of your home without inflating your bill. Overview of different types of new generation radiators: their functioning, their strengths and their weaknesses.

Inertia radiator

Modern radiators with natural convection

These types of radiators are simply "toasters", but they are smart, by embedding technologies to reduce, to a certain extent, electricity consumption and better manage heating schedules.

Modern convection heaters

Like their elders, they use natural convection to distribute heat in a home. The cold air is taken from the lower part of the device and is heated by a resistance. It then emerges from grids or fins, and continues its ascent to the ceiling. As its temperature drops, it drops back to ground level and is again picked up by the radiator to be warmed up.

The main assets of the natural convection heater reside in its particularly affordable price (a few tens of euros) and in its installation, achievable by an amateur handyman. However, if you want to efficiently optimize the thermal comfort of your home while reducing your energy consumption, we recommend that you turn to another type of model. Indeed, this radiator remains relatively energy-intensive and does not distribute heat evenly.

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Inertia radiators

These radiators are like excellent alternatives to models with natural convection. They radiate heat, and can reduce their operating time thanks to a solid or liquid heating core.

This heart (or body) of heating has the main function of conserve the heat produced by the appliance, to then gradually restore it inside your home. At times, the inertia radiator greatly reduces its electricity consumption to leave the heating of your home to a coolant or a refractory material such as cast iron or aluminum.

This type of device is simply a must to limit your expenses, while improving the thermal comfort of your home. However, it has some weaknesses among which we can mention its relatively long heating time and its purchase price significantly higher than that of conventional convection heaters.

Radiator (panel) radiating

The radiant panel radiator combines the advantages of inertia and natural convection models respectively. As its name suggests, it has a panel whose role is to to diffuse the heat by electromagnetic radiation

Radiant heaters

This element can be designed in carbon or metal alloy. It is heated by electric resistances, and restores the heat produced inside your home, by diffusing infrared rays over great distances.

The radiant panel heater uses less energy than a conventional convector. In addition, it takes less time to heat a room than an inertial model. However, it does not offer the same level of comfort as the so-called “gentle heat” devices and can cause dispersions of allergens and microparticles due to its radiation system.

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For your information, this heater is both compact and stylish. Many brands use their creativity to turn their products into real pieces of decoration. There are even radiant mirrors, especially for bathrooms!

Dual core heating radiators

Dual-core radiators are both economical and efficient. Like inertia models, they are equipped with a cast iron or ceramic heating body that can efficiently store heat and reduce energy consumption.

But in addition to the heating core made of refractory material, this type of heating system has a radiant panel. This is responsible for rapidly generating heat by diffusing infrared rays over great distances.

The two bodies of this radiator work alternately, in order to reduce the heating time, to limit energy consumption and guarantee optimal comfort. First, the radiant panel heats the air and diffuses it in your bedroom, bathroom or living room. As soon as the refractory body reaches a certain temperature, it takes over and the device adjusts its consumption so that you can achieve significant energy savings.

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Thanks to the combination of these two technologies, the dual-core radiator is more economical than modern convectors, and guarantees a level of comfort similar to that of inertial devices. However, it is not without its weaknesses: on the one hand, it is more expensive than natural convection heaters and, on the other hand, it often requires you to proceed with a number of settings to effectively adjust the ambient air temperature in your home.

Note that the first dual-core heating systems appeared in the 90s. They were known under the name “2-in-1 radiant”, and combined radiation and convection panels, like current panel radiators.

Electric heating walls and floors

The configurations of the heated walls and floors are very different from those of conventional radiators since they are integrated into the walls and floors. However, they take up certain characteristics of radiating radiators but their pfd is much lower, which increases thermal comfort and energy savings. It is the mode of heating most comfortable and economical electric but it requires quite heavy installation work.

Indeed, they are placed under the floor or under the plaster or wall covering which requires to redo one or the other entirely. This mode is therefore reserved for renovations or new constructions. They are therefore much more expensive to install than convectors, inertia radiators, radiant panel and double core.

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