Infra red panels.

[Lawrence C]

Has anyone had experience with IR panels for heating in a camper van?

I'm interested in building all all electric (habitation) camper and IR panels seem to be efficient, but are there any downsides?

 

[Richard n Ann]

Raul
autorouter

 

[Raul]

IR is no more efficient than resistance heating, still 1:1 no gain. The only difference is, radiant heat and it warms the objects rather than air. I would prefer blown air heating even electric. Also how you going to carry the necessary energy storage? How much Lithium? A litre of lpg holds 7kwh of energy. For the same amount in electric you will need at least 550ah lithium at 12v. It’s nice to combine the two sources, and use a little lpg in winter, unless you are on hookup. I’m not fan of IR at all, we used to have them at work to help drying the plaster. We had 3 1200w and ended in the skip. A 2kw oil rad was more efficient in drying the walls.

 

[Lawrence C]

Thanks Raul. The idea behind the IR panels, was ease of installation and their low power draw. If the description is to believed one 300w panel is enough for 5 meter square. They would mostly be used when on hookup and when not on hookup only for short periods of time. Positioned in a van, do you think their hot surface temp would be an issue and how much of that is sent backwards to where the unit is mounted?

 

[Raul]

If 300w is enough for 5m2 is debatable. The necessary heating required is down to insulation how much it leaks. A fairly insulated house with a temperature outside of 0deg, it needs 50w per 2,5m3 of space to maintain a 20 deg inside. That equates 2kw for a room of 4x4 with 2,5m height. In the van we have allot of heat loss due to thermal bridging, window conductivity etc.
As for what’s the necessary clearance of combustibles around the heater you mention, I don’t know. Each heater should have manufacture recommendation as how far away combustibles need to be kept away.

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[autorouter]

IR panels are not the same as the glowing red heaters you see outside pubs and cafes. They typically 'only' heat up to about 120C, and work by emitting infra-red from a larger area rather than a concentrated heater element. They heat objects, including people, directly rather than heating the air.

In a motorhome you'd probably have difficulty finding enough clear area to mount them on the walls - they are best mounted around head height. But they can be mounted on the ceiling, which is more of a possibility. A 300W IR panel would be about 600mm square, so worth a try, I think. But I've never tried them so I remain unconvinced, it doesn't feel like it ought to work.