White Paper
Heating developer Spectra Systems needed a white paper to make a strong case for the benefits of radiant heat panels. The paper had to speak equally well to the sales force as it would to the end user. The paper was produced without any printed matter or information from the manufacturer, and three hours of discussion with the engineer.
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RADIANT HEAT: A WARM IDEA THAT SAVES YOU MONEY
Efficient, clean, inexpensive heating from Spectra’s radiant heat panels.
HOW DOES RADIANT HEAT WORK
The principle behind radiant heat is as old as the universe. The most spectacular example of radiant heat is the sun itself, that great force of radiant heat that all life on earth counts on for survival.
Radian heat pens work electronically and transmit heat in the form of infra red rays. Warmth is created simply, gently, safely and without noise or air currents. Radian heat maximizes energy savings by heaying directly rather than heating all of the air around you.
WHAT IS INFRA RED?
Infra red energy is everywhere. Technically speaking, eveything with a temperature above absolute zero radiates infra red. The sun sends infra red rays to the earth providing heat that has warmed the earth since the beginning of time.
Even our bodies radiate infra red energy. As we radiate this heat, we create a normal but major source of heat loss that has to be counter-acted with a heating system that will help us maintain total comfort. The infra red rays of the Spectra System does just that.
Infra red energy travels in straight lines like light rays and move through the air until they reach a solid surface or object, like a person, wall or piece of furniture. The object absorbs the energy and converts it into heat, which is in tern radiated in the same way to other objects. In this process, the air temperature rises only as a result of contact with warm surfaces.
WHY CHOSE RADIANT HEAT?
The Spectra System will change your mind about furnaces, rads, ducts and forced air with a low-temperature heating system that provides the cleanest, most economical and functional heating available today.
Spectra improves on conventional convective warm air systems in 7 important ways
1. Total Control
2. Reduced Heat Loss
3. Efficiency and Economy
4. Maintenance-Free
5. Functional Superiority
6. No Dust, Noise or Air Currents
7. No Humidification or Condensation
1. Total Control
With Spectra radiant heat panels, you can heat just open room, heat a room according to its needs and save energy when you’re not there.
Spectra addresses the fact that every room has its own special heating requirements. It provides individual room temperature control, unlike conventional central heating systems, which have to heat the entire building or home just to heat one room.
Individual room thermostats allow you to create a perfectly comfortable environment.
If you’re going to leave a room vacant for a while, turn the thermostat down 10 degrees F. When you come back. Turn the indicator back to the appropriate setting and the panels will start warming you in minutes.
The beauty of the Spectra System is that you have heat when you need it and save energy by lowering the thermostat when you’re not there. With this ability to control room and area temperatures you can heat occupied areas only and turn down the thermostats in the rest of the home or building.
2. Reduced Heat Loss
Heat loss is one of conventional heating’s biggest problems. The Spectra System reduces heat loss because it doesn’t warm the air directly like conventional systems do. It radiates heat to objections, which in turn radiate heat around the room. It takes less energy to heat a room and, consequently, the entire building, because occupants are warmed directly rather than having the surrounding air unnecessarily overheated.
Research shows that you can save up to 3% on your heating bill for every degree Fahrenheit you lower your thermostat from the 70s to the 60s. Spectra makes it attractive to take advantage of this method of saving on energy because radiant heat panels give you improved comfort levels when the air temperature is between 6 – 8 degrees F lower than you would have it with conventional systems.
With this reduced heat loss, the size of the Spectra system needed to heat the building is smaller than it would be with conventional systems.
3. Efficiency and Economy
Another way the Spectra System is designed to minimize heat loss is that it keeps a room’s temperature gradient as low as 2 degrees F. This means that the difference between the temperatures at the ceiling and floor is 2 degrees F. Conventional systems create temperature gradients of 1 degree for every foot, so that a room with an 8-foot ceiling has a temperature gradient of 8 degrees F. This is because the warm air created by conventional systems rises to the ceiling to heat the air above everyone’s head and leaves the floor cool.
Why waste energy heating unused space?
Radiant heat panels work electrically. The system’s conversion to heat is 100%, of which 90% is radiant heat. There’s no energy lost to drive fans or force air.
Why waste energy on a heating system that doesn’t put all its power into heating?
Total control, reduced heat loss, efficiency and economy all add up to giving you a heating system with an operating consumption that’s lower than any convective air system.
4. Maintenance-Free
Spectra radiant heat panels were specifically constructed for a long life. It has a minimum life of 30 years, with engineering that virtually eliminates the need for maintenance.
Spectra has no moving parts that break down. Its heating elements are made with non-metallic carbon, graphite and Teflon. Because the element is non-metallic, it won’t develop brittleness from repeated heating-cooling cycles – the process that usually leads to failure in conventional electric heating elements.
And radiant heat panels operate at low temperatures, so they’re safe to touch.
Spectra’s long equipment life, low operating cost and maintenance-free operation makes the total life cycle cost the lowest of any heating system on the market today.
5. Functional Superiority
With the Spectra System, you eliminate the need for furnaces, boilers, storage tanks, ducts, flues, filters, electronic air cleaners, piping and radiators
Radiant heat panels were designed to sit out of the way. They blend into the ceiling so that there’s no loss of valuable floor or wall space. They can be surface-mounted, recessed, chain-hung or fit into a t-bar grid.
They’re washable and can be repainted any colour with latex or acrylic paint. You can even silkscreen them to compliment your existing décor – a creative idea to integrate your heating system with your building’s interior design.
Renovating? Adding a new room? Looking for a low-cost way to heat your cottage in winter?
By choosing the Spectra System for supplemental heating, you avoid the mess, fuss and expense of extending duct work.
For hard to heat areas of just plain economy, Spectra radiant heat panels are the ideal problem-solvers. Heat a cold bathroom or any other cool room. Add a panel to a frequently occupied room and turn the thermostat for the rest of the house.
6. No Dust, Noise or Air Currents
Radiant heat panels don’t product convective air currents. There are no fans stirring around hot air, dust, grime, germs, odours or debris. There’s no irritation to the sinuses, making life a little more pleasant for those who suffer from allergies.
And because the panels have no moving parts, they’re silent and clean. No noise. No replacing individual parts. No oiling or breakdowns.
Many hospitals have already taken advantage of the quiet, efficient, sanitary comfort of radiant heat panels.
7. No Humidification or Condensation
Radiant heat panels are not air heaters. Conventional systems dry the air to the point where you need to humidify. The Spectra System keeps rooms war, not dry. It heats the room, objects and persons in the room, not the air.
This also reduces condensation or moisture on inside surfaces because they’re kept warm at temperatures just slightly higher than the surrounding air
Spectra offers you increased flexibility of wall and floor space and an improved indoor environment – benefits unmatched by any other heating systems available today.
APPLICATIONS
Residences, Apartments, Offices, Hospitals, Churches, Motels, Commercial/Industrial building,s Airports, Swimming Pools, Schools, Barns, Entrances, Corridors, Bus and Train Stations, Greenhouses …
• Alternative to high life-cycle costs for central heating systems in new building design
• Cost-saving and energy-efficient retrofit installations in older building renovations
• Primary perimeter heating with Variable Air Volume systems
• Precise control of zone, area dn spot heating requirements
• Supplementary heating and for back-up support with heat pumps and solar heating
• Providing critical human comfort needs: hospital patient rooms, examination rooms, nurseries, neonatal units, burn units, operating rooms, seniors’ residences, nursing homes, classrooms
• Spot heating requirements: over a secretary’s desk, a machine operator, a tub or shower area, entry or vestibule, sliding glass door, livestock enclosures
• Hard to heat areas: corner offices, corridors, stair wellsl, work stations, bus shelters, outdoor booths, swimming pool enclosures
• Eliminating vandalism and damage in high traffic areas: subway stations, lobbies, airport connection ramps, public washrooms, locer rooms, symnasiums
• Where perimeter floor and wall space is blocked: stores, libraries, warehouses, storerooms, control rooms
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