Fake Infrared versus Far-Infrared

Fake Infrared vs Far-Infrared

What is the difference between a “Fake” and a “Far”-infrared heater?

Fake infrared

When purchasing a far-infrared heater there are many things to consider. With hundreds of companies claiming to sell far-infrared or infrared heaters, few actually are far-infrared heaters, most are scams.

The market is flooded with “non-infrared heaters” yet many people are fooled into believing they purchased an energy saving (far) infrared heating device, while in reality they purchased a $2 Halogen/quartz light bulb that runs so hot that it produces “near-infrared”. Near-infrared is able to “excite” the air molecules which creates “heat” (hot air) around it; next, a $3 fan blows the heated air it into the space. The hot air rises just like with any convection heater and if the room has high ceilings the “heater” won’t contribute anything. To dress it up, manufacturers add a fancy cabinet.

In reality, these people who believe to have purchased a state of the art infrared heater just have been scammed into purchasing $5 in parts and a fancy cabinet for a simple if not useless convection heater.

Far-infrared

Scientific exploration and testing over the past century has provided us with the evidence of what a far-infrared heater is and how the far-infrared energy “light” passes through the air. Because of its wavelength far-infrared waves travel around the air molecule; it has virtually no ability to collide with and excite the air molecules. Because it is able to travel through the air, the far-infrared waves will collide with the surfaces it encounters and this in turn is able to warm up these surfaces, people, and/or animals within the space (Boltzmann, Planck and others). Far-infrared heating is the most efficient way of “heating”.

True far infrared heaters produce invisible light; the wavelength of this light is related to the heaters’ surface-temperature. True far infrared heaters operate from slightly above room temperature to the temperature of boiling water (212 degrees F or 100 degrees C); on the other end of the infrared spectrum are the heating elements that glow (2200+ degrees C); these emit dangerous “near infrared” energy (examples are heat-lamps, heating coils, gas infrared heaters, et.). Exposure to near infrared is known to cause eye damage (cataracts and retina damage) as well as skin damage, burns and even cancer due to tissue burns. Far-infrared has been proven safe for people and animals; prolonged exposure is very healthy and only benefits have been identified for infrared operating at 7,000-10,000 nm. This is the therapeutic part of the sun’s spectrum.

Prestyl’s far-infrared products only operate in this safe part of the spectrum.

Far-infrared Heaters, element types, efficiency and expected lifecycle

There are three different common types of electric far-infrared heaters; Carbon, Metal or Hybrid

Carbon film carbon impregnated sheets and carbon impregnated wire

Carbon based heating elements have become the cheap replacements for traditional coil-in ceramic heating elements.

Their expected life cycle is 2-5 years (some cheap versions last less some better ones longer)

While carbon is cheap and plentiful (in many cases less than $1 per square yard for the element), it is the preferred material by Chinese manufacturers. Poorly built carbon units have been blamed for many fires and because of the nature of carbon, even the more expensive units can cause fires under certain well-documented circumstances.

Carbon has a very dangerous inherent characteristic; it has an undesirable “temperature coefficient” (this has to do with how carbon reacts over temperature). Carbon is classified electrically as a NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) material. What this means that the colder it gets, the higher its resistance and the hotter it gets the lower its resistance.

Thus, when it is really cold (and when you need the heater to work most) the resistance is high. This means very little energy is converted to heat and the heater may take a long time to warm up; in many cases, “it will not start at all”. At low ambient temperatures this is annoying, but not a safety problem.

As carbon heats up, its electrical resistance gets lower so a heater has to be carefully designed not to exceed a certain temperature (balance between energy supplied and infrared energy radiated). A carbon heater must have multiple built-in safety switches to be safe. In most cases, the safety switches will manage the maximum operating temperature of the far-infrared heater – – that is until a portion of the heater is covered up. The covered portion gets hotter, in turn the resistance gets lower, this in turn makes the covered section get hotter and an avalanche effect has been created. Because it is a local issue, the safety switch may not know there is a problem and a fire may result (many fires have been attributed to this characteristic). Because carbon cannot be properly controlled (even the best control systems are very slow), the energy usage is typically 5-20% higher than a Prestyl hybrid alloy far-infrared heater.

Metal coil, Resistor wire, metal foil and metal hybrid foil

Metal-based far-infrared heaters are generally considered safer because metals in general have a “Positive Temperature Characteristic” or PTC. PTC means that the warmer the heater gets, the lower its energy consumption (this is the result of the increased electrical resistance); “self-regulation” occurs when the predetermined design temperature has been reached. This means that most metal-based far-IR heaters are generally much safer than carbon units.

Then, if all metal-based units have these “safe characteristics”, why would one purchase a Prestyl unit? What makes Prestyl so unique? Please see a detailed explanation following “the Prestyl advantage)

The Prestyl advantage
The answer is simple:

• Energy savings (design allows for optimum electrical to IR energy conversion)
• Design of the Aluminum hybrid film (can be produced in any volume, with incredible precision)
• Construction of the thin-film heating section (fully sealed)
• All Aluminum construction (best metal IR radiator for the investment)
• Much larger energy transfer area than competitive products (lower element temperatures and longer lifecycle)
• Best thermal transfer possible (optimized through trace designs)
• Distributed IR energy footprint
• Floating housing design (prevents warping of the module)
• “Hypo allergenic”
• Quality of the materials used
• Available plain or as printed artworks
• Primary or supplemental heat
• Maintenance free
• Longest life expectancy
• A vast array of approvals and safety listings

What makes Prestyl better?

Far-infrared heating is not new as many may assume. Before there was any form of man-made heating there was the sun; the sun warms up surfaces, heat energy is stored, and even long after the sun has set these surfaces radiates a comfortable far-infrared heat (this is regardless of the outside temperature as it does not heat the air).

After millennia of development we have returned to the sun; FAR-INFRARED.

Prestyl is one of the most efficient generators of far infrared energy on the planet.

History

The first Far IR systems were resistor wires coiled up in the ceilings. These provided a comfortable heat and yielded dramatically reduced energy consumption. Because of the corrosion associated with the constant warming up and cooling off, the life expectancy was relatively short and repairs meant tearing out the ceilings to gain access.

After his there were a few manufacturers that built far-infrared heating panels using this same technology. These worked very well but required routine replacements of the heating elements. The advantage was that these would simply be removed, repaired and reinstalled.

Today there are still a few manufacturers using this technology; the coils have been replaced with a thin resistive wire that is sandwiched between some sort of foil. The advantage is a cheap unit (rivaling carbon) but one that has the same life-expectancy as the older systems.

Regardless of the quality of the resistive wire, these units are prone to failure since these have a very poor “element to surface ratio”. The thinner the wire the “hotter” it needs to run in order to conduct its heat to the far-infrared radiating surface (images explaining these observations can be found on page 7 of this document)

Others have tried using a very thin solid surface to improve surface area, but there are several problems associated with these; One, a the surface will not heat evenly so there is repeated stress as these heat and cool so these generally crack and fail in a matter of one to three years, Two, due to the construction constraints of these panels it is impossible to evenly distribute the infrared energy, Three – there is no way to compensate for dissimilar materials (expansion ratios of the element and front surface are different and damage occurs), and four the film would be so thin that it could well be damaged in handling before it is even installed.

Prestyl’s proprietary hybrid film

Prestyl’s unique film has been successfully used for over 18 years under the most demanding conditions (building and private/public transport industry).

Energy efficiency and life expectancy:

Prestyl’s products have been specifically designed for a very long lifecycle; the thin-film Aluminum hybrid alloy is completely encapsulated in a Mylar enclosure, virtually eliminating the dreaded corrosion component. The inherent “self-protecting” characteristics of the Aluminum component in the film add another layer of corrosion protection increasing the life expectancy to dozens of years. The “encapsulating process” creates a 0.031″ (0.8mm) thick “heating element”; because the heating element is so thin, the distance between the element and the Aluminum front panel is very minimal so the conduction of heat from the element to the front panel is optimized and the resulting energy consumption is the lowest achievable.

The manufacturing process is a combination of the newspaper printing process and printed circuit board fabrication. The result is a capacity of over 16 miles (26 km) per day per production line.

The best far-infrared radiator for the money

On the list of suitable radiators Aluminum is among the top contenders. There are other materials but these are either cost prohibitive or just too soft to be practical.

Prestyl’s products have been specifically designed for a very long lifecycle; the thin-film Aluminum hybrid alloy is completely encapsulated in a Mylar enclosure, virtually eliminating the dreaded corrosion component. The inherent “self-protecting” characteristics of the Aluminum component in the film add another layer of corrosion protection increasing the life expectancy to dozens of years. The “encapsulating process” creates a 0.031″ (0.8mm) thick “heating element”; because the heating element is so thin, the distance between the element and the Aluminum front panel is very minimal so the conduction of heat from the element to the front panel is optimized and the resulting energy consumption is the lowest achievable.

The manufacturing process is a combination of the newspaper printing process and printed circuit board fabrication. The result is a capacity of over 16 miles (26 km) per day per production line.

The best far-infrared radiator for the money

On the list of suitable radiators Aluminum is among the top contenders. There are other materials but these are either cost prohibitive or just too soft to be practical.

Prestyl chose Aluminum for its standard panels for two primary reasons; One, Aluminum provides the best heat transfer for the investment (look at the heat-sinks on electronic gear, 99% are Aluminum), and two because the materials in the film and the housing are based on the same elements, Prestyl greatly minimizes the stress on its film.

Compared with many competitors, Prestyl’s designs offer a much larger energy transfer area; the product resembles a circuit board with a nearly 50% surface coverage (10 times greater than some competitors’ product), this results in lower element temperatures and promotes a longer lifecycle

Unique trace designs, best possible IR footprint

Another unique Prestyl feature is its trace design; while competitors use “same width/diameter heating wire”, Prestyl’s etched traces are designed to promote and “even IR footprint”. IR works on a principle of watts per square foot (m²). So every inch on a panel counts. Prestyl’s unique trace design minimizes the heat concentration in the center. It distributes the heat evenly to the edges of the radiating surface. This results in an even and predictable IR coverage pattern and again helps reduce energy consumption

“Hyper allergenic”

While most competitors use inexpensive fiberglass insulation, Prestyl uses a 100% recyclable unique wool-based woven insulator. Yes, it is more expensive, but it completely eliminates the irritable fiberglass dust that is commonly emitted by competitor’s units, making the Prestyl far-infrared heater a virtually hypoallergenic, health conscious choice.

Highest quality materials

Prestyl’s far-infrared heating systems have been developed over a period of 18 years; the company has succeeded where others failed by using only the highest quality raw materials.
Prestyl is a true far-infrared pioneer, not a “me too” company. The company is not only active in in the traditional (home, office, institutions etc.) heating business; it is also heavily involved in developing energy saving solutions for high-profile transportation projects in North America (for reference, 100% of all French trains produced over the past 5 years are heated with our films).

Great flexibility

For many years Prestyl’s film has been used as primary heat source only; over the past 4 years the company developed the self-contained heating panel or “cassette”.

This panel has become Prestyl USA’s core product as it can be installed in primary as well as secondary applications (augmenting geothermal systems, heating cold areas as fill-in heat and hybrid systems); the printed artwork options have made Prestyl the “fill-in heat” choice of home decorators and remodelers. Prestyl offers products at European voltages and all popular North American voltages.