Why Warmset Emits So Much More FIR Compared To Electric Cables

Here’s a breakdown of the key points:

• All heated surfaces emit infrared radiation. This is a general principle, meaning both electric cables and Warmset ribbons will emit heat partly as infrared radiation.
• However, the quantity of infrared heat emitted is not the same and depends on several factors, as described by the formula P=εσA(T4−Tambient4​). This formula calculates the heat based on:
• • A constant (implicitly the Stefan-Boltzmann constant).
  • The surface area of the radiating body.
  • The emissivity or absorptivity of the surface, which depends on its roughness and colour (darker colours emit and absorb more infrared).
  • The fourth power of the absolute temperature difference between the radiating surface and the surrounding environment.
• Warmset has a significantly larger surface area compared to electric cables. The Warmset radiant ribbon is flat and wider (17 mm) than a typical round electric cable (around 1 – 2  mm in terms of the copper element).
• Due to the larger surface area of Warmset, for the same power input, it can achieve a higher average radiant temperature across its surface compared to the concentrated heat from a thin cable.
• The formula shows that the temperature of the radiating body has a significant impact on infrared emission because it is raised to the fourth power. Therefore, even a moderate increase in the average surface temperature can lead to a substantial increase in infrared radiation.
• The larger surface area of Warmset allows it to heat the floor more evenly and efficiently at potentially lower temperatures, leading to a greater proportion of heat transfer through infrared radiation compared to an electric cable that heats a smaller area to a higher temperature.
• While an electric cable also emits infrared radiation, the amount is considerably less due to its smaller surface area. This means that claiming a cable-based system as primarily an “infrared heating” system would be misleading because the infrared contribution is minimal compared to the heat generated by resistance and conducted to the immediate surroundings. Warmset, with its larger surface area and potentially higher average radiant temperature, has a more significant infrared heat emission.

In essence, both Warmset and electric cables emit infrared radiation because they are heated. However, Warmset’s design, featuring a larger surface area, allows it to operate at a more advantageous temperature profile for infrared emission, resulting in a significantly higher proportion of heat transfer through infrared radiation compared to an electric cable with the same power input. This difference is fundamentally explained by the principles governing thermal radiation, particularly the relationship between surface area, temperature, and emitted radiant energy described by the Stefan-Boltzmann Law.