subject: How do Infrared Heaters work? [print this page] How do Infrared Heaters work? How do Infrared Heaters work?
Infrared (IR) refers to light lying between the microwaves used to reheat or cook our 5-minute meals and the spectrum of light perceivable by humans. Virtually everything produces infrared radiation and as an object warms, it produces more. We cannot see infrared with our eyes but we can sense it as heat. Heat is generated by the movement of subatomic particles and changed into electromagnetic radiation in the infrared range.
After considering industrial standard heaters, those found inrestaurants or smoking areas the those used to keep our pets warm, the most obvious example of infrared's influence isThe heating and cooling of the earth. Infrared can travel through a vacuum such as outer space and so it makes up half of the sun's warming effect on the Earth during the day. The remaining heat comes from visible light, absorbed by objects on earth and later emitted as infrared heat.
Unlike convection which uses the air to transport heat or conduction which heats via direct contact, infrared is based on radiation. Temperature dictates the wavelength of infrared produced by an IR heater. Molecules differ depending on the material and each absorbs infrared at a particular wavelength, when absorption occurs, the molecule heats up. Therefore infrared heating systems are fine-tuned to produce the wavelength specific to the material it is designed to warm. An infrared heater contains a filament flooded with electricity, producing the required temperature.
Humans have harnessed infrared in a variety of products. We use it in industrial plastic heatingand glass production and for personal comfort. They are composed of light bulbs designed to maximize infrared energy. These products have little emphasis on producing light, however you might notice a bright orange glow emitted as a byproduct.
