Infrared technology is used in various forms of heating, including electric infrared heaters, infrared saunas and propane infrared fryers. The most popular is electric portable infrared heaters. They have gained popularity recently as an efficient form of zone heating to keep a room, or zone warm and comfortable.

There is a tendency to measure infrared heater efficiency according to the time a heater takes to heat a room. Some portable heaters can heat up a room quickly, so there’s more to consider when it comes to efficiency. And although infrared heating technology is known to be efficient when compared to some others, there is a lack of sound testing data of infrared heaters to support this theory.

There are basically two types of electric infrared heaters, portable wheeled units with infrared heating technology and more compact heaters with infrared combined with other forms of heating systems. While the two are portable and can be easily relocated, the larger model usually has wheels, and small units can be carried to another room. Portable infrared heaters have quickly grown in popularity because of large energy savings.

When energy savings may take longer to verify, portable electric fireplace heaters are considered an efficient zone heating option. They do vary in construction, materials and how the wave heat radiation is constructed, making them confusing to compare among brands and models. The efficiency of those infrared heaters has not been measured.

Infrared technology has many applications. It’s not surprising that it has been combined with other heating technologies such as convection or radiant heating, in the production of compact ceramic or quartz heaters and even electric fireplaces.

While electric infrared convector heaters are more suitable for home use, propane infrared heaters are often used on outdoor construction sites. If you are going to buy a heater for outdoor use, you’d better buy a propane infrared heater. They do serve well for outdoor use and will never let you down.