Electric Heating Systems

Here is a very simple calculation to determine your infrared heating energy consumption needs, versus that of an oil-fired heater.

1) Calculate the room volume to be heated (width x depth x height) = m3

2) Calculate the infrared consumption = Room volume (m3) x 25 Watts

3) Cost per hour = Consumption (your answer in 2) x Unit cost of electricity (which currently stands at about 14p per kWh.

4) Divide total running time by 3 (as Redwell panels draw current for only 1/3 of the total time they are 'on').


To calculate oil heating consumption:

a) Calculate room volume as above

b) Calculate Radiator output watts = Room volume (m3) x 45 Watts

c) Calculate Boiler output watts = Radiator output watts + 10% (due to loss between boiler and radiator)

d) Calculate Boiler Consumption Watts = Boiler output watts (from 'c' above) divided by "age deflator" (see below) x 100.
(The "age deflator" is to account for the fact that boiler output efficiency degrades over time. A 1-3 year old burner is generally considered 90% efficient so your deflator = 90. 3-5 year burner is considerd 70-80% efficient so your deflator is between 70 - 80. A boiler older than 5 years can be as little as 55% efficient so your deflator is 55.)

e) Divide your kWh figure in d) by 10.22 and multiply that figure by the per-litre cost of your oil. (10.22 is the generally accepted figure for "kilowatts per litre" and by using the age deflator above, we can take into account the efficiency of the burner).