Radiant Heating
Systems

It has been used in our country since the early 1990s, finding application in industrial and commercial facilities. The principle in radiant heating systems is different from traditional heating systems. In traditional heaters, heat transfer is done by “convection” and the ambient air is brought to a certain temperature, increasing thermal comfort. On the other hand, radiant heaters heat objects by emitting “radiation”, which is another type of heat transfer. Heat transfer by radiation; every object at a finite temperature (above 0ºK) emits electromagnetic waves due to the change movement in the electron structures of its atoms or molecules. Since the increase in the temperature of the object increases the movement of atoms and molecules, the electromagnetic wave intensity, i.e. heat radiation, also increases. In applications in closed spaces, the radiation effect is felt first and then the air in the space is heated by the energy it receives from the heated objects through convection. This basic principle provides many advantages, especially in high spaces and open air heating. In places heated by blowing hot air, since hot air has less density than cold air, it rises and accumulates at the ceiling of the environment. In this case, as the height increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to increase the air temperature at the bottom. The working principle of radiant heaters is quite simple. The burning gas inside the burner chamber moves through special quartz-coated pipes with the help of a vacuum fan, leaving its heat to the pipe. The heat emitted from the pipe is reflected by the reflector on it and transmitted to the floor.


Low Intensity Radiant Heaters
Heaters with a radiant surface temperature between 200 and 815 ºC are called low intensity radiant heaters [RG]. The wavelengths of the radiation emitted from the surface of these heaters can vary between 2 and 10 microns. Various types of tubular heaters (gas-fired) and domestic electric heaters are included in this category.
Tubular type Radiant heaters are examined under two main headings:
1. Single burner tube
2. Multi-burner pipe
Single Burner Tubular Radiant Heaters
The Turkish Standards Institute's TS EN 416-1 1 standard mentions single-burner Radiant heater systems. Single-burner heaters are grouped under two main headings: Flat type and U type.
Flat type heaters can have a homogeneous heat distribution if the entire space is heated and the devices are placed appropriately. In fact, in this case, homogeneous heat distribution is not as important as spot heating.
The total installed power should be selected to reach the comfort temperature within 30 minutes when the space is cold. In a system with this design, changes in heat distribution are not disturbing. In addition, if the burner directions of the devices are placed on the door or window sides where the heat loss is high, the heat distribution will be more even.
The differences in heat distribution of flat type radiant heaters have led to the development of U-type tube radiant heaters that eliminate this disadvantage. The main difference of U-type heaters is that the radiant tubes, which are in a single row in flat type heaters, are made into a double row with a U pipe.


Multi-Burner Tubular Radiant Heaters
The Turkish Standards Institute's TS EN 777-1, TS-EN 777-2, TS-EN 777-3 and TS-EN 777-4 standards include Multi-Burner Tubular Type Radiant Heaters. These standards mention 4 types of multi-burner radiant heaters:
Type D Multi-burner heater: Devices that do not have a fan on the burners but have a fan at the end of the common line to which they are connected and only one burner is connected to each secondary line.
Type E Multi-burner heater: Systems where each burner has its own fan, but there is no other fan on the common line to which it is connected and only one burner is connected to each secondary line.
Type F Multi-burner heater: Systems where each burner has its own fan and there is a common fan on the common line to which it is connected, and only one burner is connected to each secondary line.
H type Multi-burner heater: Systems where more than one burner is connected to a line with a common fan on the same line and two or more burners are used for each branch line.

High Intensity Radiant Heaters
Heaters with a radiant surface temperature of 815 ºC and above are called High Intensity Radiant Heaters. The wavelengths of the rays emitted from the surface of high intensity heaters are between 1 and 6 microns. Ceramic plate heaters (natural gas), ceramic plate garden, veranda and terrace heaters and high surface temperature, especially industrial type electric Radiant Heaters are included in this category.
Ceramic plate radiant heaters can also be referred to as open flame in the literature. The term open flame comes from the way these devices emit heat.
Ceramic Plate Radiant Heater


Warm Air Blown Radiant Heaters
Hot air generator is one of the most ideal solutions for heating systems of cafes, restaurants, winter gardens, factories, workshops, barns, coops, and manufacturing plants with large volumes where the ambient air needs to be heated. The hot air generator takes the ambient air and blows it hot through exchangers. It offers perfect heating solutions especially for businesses with low ceilings. Spaces heated with hot air generators are both more comfortable and more fuel efficient than classical heating systems. The air circulation created by blowing the heated air inside will create a more homogeneous heat distribution within the space, which will provide perfect comfort with much less fuel.
• Does not require a boiler room and equipment.
• Provides minimum temperature difference between ceiling and floor.
• Easy installation, low investment cost, amortizes itself in a short time.
• It is possible to heat different areas with different temperatures.
• It is possible to use natural gas, LPG, LNG and diesel fuel options.
Space heating with hot air and radiant heaters
• In the table on the left above, you can see how heat loss occurs in an area heated with hot air as the heated air rises. The heated air collects at the top and moves away from the floor that is desired to be heated.
• In the radiant heating system, it is possible to clearly see how the heat is concentrated on the floor in the radiant heating system hung above in the table on the right. It sends the heat directly to the floor that is desired to be heated.
• Since there is no air circulation, it does not carry dust and particles.
• These systems, which offer many advantages over conventional blowing systems, provide significant savings, especially in investment and operating costs. (50% savings)
• Provides healthy environments with comfortable heating.
• Practical applications show that, in order to bring the air temperature at 1.8 m above the ground to 18ºC in a 10 m building, the underfloor temperature in air blowing systems is approximately 30ºC, while in buildings where radiant heaters are used, this temperature is around 21ºC.
Radiant Heater Application Areas
Although gas-fired radiant heaters were initially developed for industrial applications, they can now be used for various needs. In practice, tubular heaters are not preferred to be installed at a height below 4 m, and open flame heaters below 5 m, as they cause a feeling of overheating.
Radiant heaters can provide very successful heating, especially in large and high spaces that are difficult or impossible to heat with traditional methods, in spaces with poor insulation, and in semi-open or outdoor heating applications.
Factories, workshops, service stations, places of worship, stadiums, gyms, warehouses, hangars, fair exhibition halls, greenhouses, animal farms are some examples.
