Infrared Heating: A green, lower cost space heater alternative. REVIEW of Redcore Concept R1

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
I had to turn on the a/c tonight. It's too damned hot outside.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I had to turn on the a/c tonight. It's too damned hot outside.

Lucky bastard! Normally it is not this cold in California, but it is right now. :( Florida has awesome weather.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Well, here it is 4 years later and that same Redcore R1 Infrared Heater I started this thread with is still working perfectly and keeping me and my pet toasty and warm for pennies on the hour.

2013-10-28 21.24.30.jpg

Again, I am still amazed at this strange technology. :) It manages to warm up the entire room, my body and the floor, but it does not heat the air or liquids. This means your houseplants dont wither overnight, your sinuses and skin does not dry out and chap, and there is absolutely no risk of fire or even being burned by touching the "grille" on the front of the heater directly. That means it is safe for pets and children. :). IIRC, somebody here said they were using a Dr. Heater IR unit which does the same thing but it's a different brand.

Most of all is the effectiveness of the thing. The unit above which is a picture of my actual heater will heat 1000 sq ft (I only have 600). It also works outdoors, and it also keeps the room warm even with windows or doors open! I even take it outdoors on my patio to use for heating. Keeps you warm while completely outside.

The initial investment has paid for itself hundreds of times over in the past 4 years. I can leave it running all night and my electric bill hardly shows a blip. Burn enough gas to get the same amount of heat (with all the bad shit it does with that heat), and my gas bill can triple.

infrared-vs-convection.jpg


Something I notice about IR heaters. You can feel that IR heat "down to your bones", unlike the heated air that gets blown out of a vent in your car or home. It's a different kind of heat. Ignore the sales pitch. The info he is giving is what is important.

 
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Tripler

Well Known GateFan
I am building a solar hand made heater for my shed were I keep my bikes because I need a non open flame type heating system because of the amount of gas venting from the bikes . When I was a hvac guy I installed plenty of infrared heaters in places such as car garages and carpentry shops and machine shops . These of course were gas powered and had sealed burners that exhausted directly to the outside . Man they felt nice once we turned them on. These of course were for very large commercial buildings .
http://www.spaceray.com/industrial_infrared_heaters/index.php

Another efficient way to heat your home is in floor heating running off your hot water boiler or wall hung water heater. Extremely expensive to do but wow , talk about comfortable . The heat from the floor will not rise higher than 5 ft so your body will be very comfortable and your feet will be even happier . Most people cover the 1/2" tubing with hardwood or tiles so no carpets and no way for allergens to be caught up in the carpets so its a better healthier way to mod your home and stay toasty warm .



modern_manual_laying_tuning_water_hydronic_gas_firing_cg1p96085098c.jpg
;)
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I've been thinking of a way to build my own infrared sauna but I might just have to rely on using room heaters for now. BTW, how loud are the heaters you guys use? The ones I've got rumble a bit with the fan. Does yours use a fan? How do they work?

Mine has a fan inside, but it is very quiet and is about the same as an almost-silent computer fan.
 

Tripler

Well Known GateFan
I've been thinking of a way to build my own infrared sauna but I might just have to rely on using room heaters for now. BTW, how loud are the heaters you guys use? The ones I've got rumble a bit with the fan. Does yours use a fan? How do they work?
Mine will be using a 120m computer fan running off a solar powered battery and using solar heat to transfer heat into the building . Here is a vid showing a similar unit I will be building . I will not be using cans .

 

Lord Ba'al

Well Known GateFan
Mine will be using a 120m computer fan running off a solar powered battery and using solar heat to transfer heat into the building . Here is a vid showing a similar unit I will be building . I will not be using cans .


Lol at the consequences of the typo. :) Quite impressive if you can pull it off.
 

Tripler

Well Known GateFan
I do not use spell check lol ... Friggin thing gets more words wrong than I do ...
I am a Cannuck so my slang always will be poppin up ,,,

;)
 

Lord Ba'al

Well Known GateFan
I do not use spell check lol ... Friggin thing gets more words wrong than I do ...
I am a Cannuck so my slang always will be poppin up ,,,

;)

Hmmm... Now you made me curious coz I don't know which part you are referring to.

For the record, I was referring to a 120 meter diameter computer fan running of a solar powered battery.
 

Lord Ba'al

Well Known GateFan
100% it will work . Just not sure how warm I will be in an un-insulated shed ...

:playful:

I have lived in a 3 by 3 meter wooden shed for 3 years. The number three seems to be recurring a lot here. Come to think of it, I think the wood was about 3 centimeters thick. Nah actually it was probably more like between 4 and 5. Anyway, I can tell you from experience that it can get mighty chilly in such a shed. I got used to it though. I had an electronic thermometer there which measured both the inside and outside temperatures. At some point I was sitting there in winter in the middle of the night, I'm talking 3, 4, 5 AM, and I saw the inside temperature drop to 8 degrees centigrade. And I was sitting there without a shirt and the window opened on a crack. Then I thought maybe it's time to put on a t-shirt. Anyway, I digress. I don't know how much time you're planning to spend in your shed and when and what you plan to be doing in it. Another thing I can tell you from experience is that if you put a growing lamp in there it'd probably be a lot less cold. ;)
 

Gate_Boarder

Well Known GateFan
Hmmm... Now you made me curious coz I don't know which part you are referring to.

For the record, I was referring to a 120 meter diameter computer fan running of a solar powered battery.

A 120 meter wide fan sitting on, what, a 3 meter wide shed? Only a Canadian can pull that one off!
 

Tripler

Well Known GateFan
Hmmm... Now you made me curious coz I don't know which part you are referring to.

For the record, I was referring to a 120 meter diameter computer fan running of a solar powered battery.
oh lol .. I thought I spelled Solar wrong ... Yah , 120 meter fan should blow me right across Canada lol ...
I guess it is 120 mm ... Oops ...But you know what I meant ...
:)
 

Tripler

Well Known GateFan
I have lived in a 3 by 3 meter wooden shed for 3 years. The number three seems to be recurring a lot here. Come to think of it, I think the wood was about 3 centimeters thick. Nah actually it was probably more like between 4 and 5. Anyway, I can tell you from experience that it can get mighty chilly in such a shed. I got used to it though. I had an electronic thermometer there which measured both the inside and outside temperatures. At some point I was sitting there in winter in the middle of the night, I'm talking 3, 4, 5 AM, and I saw the inside temperature drop to 8 degrees centigrade. And I was sitting there without a shirt and the window opened on a crack. Then I thought maybe it's time to put on a t-shirt. Anyway, I digress. I don't know how much time you're planning to spend in your shed and when and what you plan to be doing in it. Another thing I can tell you from experience is that if you put a growing lamp in there it'd probably be a lot less cold. ;)
How did you heat it ? Wow . Sounded tough ...
I stayed every summer in my grans shack as a youth and I loved it . No electricity or running water . Coal oil lamps and a huge wood stove . We also hunted dear and moose so we ruffed it there also in a tent tho .
It get's way below 40 celcius here but usually hovers around minus 20. But so far this year , we have had double digits above zero ( it is still early in the season )quite often so maybe we're in for a warm winter . Last year we had no snow that stuck to the ground . It melted every time . Saved my back lot's ...
Anyway hoping for lot's of sunny days and see how things go .

;)

;(
 

Lord Ba'al

Well Known GateFan
How did you heat it ? Wow . Sounded tough ...
I stayed every summer in my grans shack as a youth and I loved it . No electricity or running water . Coal oil lamps and a huge wood stove . We also hunted dear and moose so we ruffed it there also in a tent tho .
It get's way below 40 celcius here but usually hovers around minus 20. But so far this year , we have had double digits above zero ( it is still early in the season )quite often so maybe we're in for a warm winter . Last year we had no snow that stuck to the ground . It melted every time . Saved my back lot's ...
Anyway hoping for lot's of sunny days and see how things go .

;)

;(

The shack was located in the yard of my parents. They had a small cabin which had a central heating system installed. We created a branch off of that leading to the shack, so there was a small heating element inside. I had to dig a 10 meter long half a meter wide and 1 meter deep trench in order to get it there. The heating only went on when it went on in the main cabin though. And then only if I had the knob open. I also had a very small ceramic electric heater. I seemed to have a high tolerance for cold in that period. I organized a barbeque once in the middle of winter while the grounds were covered in snow. People found it interesting. Everyone was wearing coats and I was standing outside in a t-shirt the whole time. I also went into town once and forgot to bring my coat. So I was walking through town in a t-shirt (again) while everyone around was wearing thick winter coats and giving me strange looks. I must admit it was a tad chilly. One thing I've learned though, if you're gonna build a wooden shed to live in, build it with double walls and insulation in between, rather than a single wall. Pro tip, make sure you have plenty of sealant to close the tiny cracks. That'll help keep both the draught and the bugs from coming through. It's nearly impossible to keep them all out though.
 
That'll help keep both the draught and the bugs from coming through. It's nearly impossible to keep them all out though.

You can also use Tyvek wrap (housewrap) to cut down on water seepage and drafts. It blocks air and water but is permeable when it comes to allowing moisture to evaporate so it doesn't grow mold in/on the walls.
 

YJ02

Well Known GateFan
I am building a solar hand made heater for my shed were I keep my bikes because I need a non open flame type heating system because of the amount of gas venting from the bikes . When I was a hvac guy I installed plenty of infrared heaters in places such as car garages and carpentry shops and machine shops . These of course were gas powered and had sealed burners that exhausted directly to the outside . Man they felt nice once we turned them on. These of course were for very large commercial buildings .
http://www.spaceray.com/industrial_infrared_heaters/index.php

Another efficient way to heat your home is in floor heating running off your hot water boiler or wall hung water heater. Extremely expensive to do but wow , talk about comfortable . The heat from the floor will not rise higher than 5 ft so your body will be very comfortable and your feet will be even happier . Most people cover the 1/2" tubing with hardwood or tiles so no carpets and no way for allergens to be caught up in the carpets so its a better healthier way to mod your home and stay toasty warm .



View attachment 33694
;)

there are actually quite a few ppl around here who have some type of in floor heating in their homes-usually an expensive retrofit

many heat the water using an outdoor wood burner

i am not a big fan of the outdoor burners and the plumbing they require to run hot water to the house

--------
are outdoor wood burners/water boilers used in canada? curious is all
 

Tripler

Well Known GateFan
there are actually quite a few ppl around here who have some type of in floor heating in their homes-usually an expensive retrofit

many heat the water using an outdoor wood burner

i am not a big fan of the outdoor burners and the plumbing they require to run hot water to the house

--------
are outdoor wood burners/water boilers used in canada? curious is all

Yes . It's all the rage in rural areas especially in Quebec were I see them at every other house on country roads . There is lot's of wood to burn locally . It is dam expensive to install infloor heating . Most homes I worked in the cost started at $20,000 just for the in floor heating tubes to be installed. Next add another 10 to 20 for the boiler system and then of course another $10,000 to $15,000 for a snow melt for the driveway . So your looking at well over a $100,000 for the infloor system alone. Add an air handler and Air Conditioning and the price can be $300,000 to $500,000. Now saying all that and the cost of course being out reach for many , it is a very efficient way to heat your house minus the stupid driveway lazy melt system . Most boiler systems are all High Efficient Wall hung boilers if NG or PG ( Natural Gas or Propane Gas ) is your main fuel . The wood burning units use wood and wood pellets and the boiler is placed 15 to 20 ft from the house because of the smoke from the boiler chimney . Tubes are run under ground into the the house into an air handler or to an infloor heating system which can look like a very complicated manifold of relays and servo's all wired into a main control panel and zoned off into different rooms for complete control of your system . Pretty cool stuff and actually kinda fun to install .
Of course those are pricing for large 10,000 square foot luxury homes . For us average Joe's it would be closer to $10,000 to $15,000 or even $20,000 for a radiant floor wood burning system in a 2000 square foot home . Also in Canada all new home builds have 6 inch walls with Tyvec wrapping around the building which lets the house breath yet save energy and reduce draft's from the heat and the cold .
Personally I have not installed a wood burning system as I live in a large Canadian city but I have seen them multiple times and even did some trouble shooting for a friends system in Quebec years ago so they have been around for the last 10 to 15 years or so .

;)
 
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