Thermal Comfort with Infrared Heaters
- Laimonis Klaperis
- Sep 24
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 25
Since people spend the majority of their time indoors, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has become increasingly critical. It directly affects health, comfort, and productivity. Among all IEQ factors, thermal comfort is one of the most important, as it reflects the psychological state of satisfaction with the thermal environment.
Energy Consumption and Comfort
Incorrectly set indoor temperatures not only fail to provide comfort but also significantly increase energy consumption of heating systems. Therefore, finding the balance between comfort and energy efficiency is essential in modern buildings.
Advantages of Infrared Heating
Infrared heaters are highly effective for public spaces, offices, and homes. Measurements such as skin temperature are directly linked to human thermoregulation, and research confirms that infrared technology has strong potential to provide personalized thermal comfort while reducing energy use.
Unlike convection heating, which warms the air, infrared panels directly warm people and surfaces. This delivers clear benefits:
temperature difference between floor and ceiling is only 0.5–1 °C,
the room feels evenly warm,
no unnecessary air mass is heated.
Impact on Health and Productivity
Most people spend 80–90% of their time indoors. When temperatures are too high or too low, discomfort and health issues may arise (headaches, neck pain, or symptoms of “sick building syndrome”). In contrast, a thermally comfortable environment leads to:
improved alertness, focus, and work efficiency,
fewer complaints and sick days,
higher overall satisfaction and wellbeing.
Research Findings
Studies show that 43% of office workers are dissatisfied with the thermal conditions at their workplace. A large survey covering 90,000 respondents and about 900 buildings revealed that only 39% of occupants were satisfied with the air temperature. This underlines the challenge: a fixed, uniform indoor temperature cannot meet the needs of all occupants.
Personalized Heating – the Future
Thermal comfort is not static. Individual perceptions of heat differ and can change over time. For example, the same person may feel comfortable when entering a cool space in summer, but soon afterwards may feel cold as the body releases excess heat.
Infrared heaters stand out as a solution because they allow:
targeted heating of specific zones or workstations,
flexibility to meet different users’ comfort levels,
reduced energy waste by avoiding unnecessary air heating.
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S036013232301106X
