Key benefits of alfresco heaters
- Unlike most other infra red heaters, our units produce medium wave infra red energy (as opposed to short wave). Medium wave is ideal for heating surfaces such as skin while shortwave was designed chiefly for the plastic moulding industry as it penetrates the surface to heat deeper into materials.
- Our lamps convert over 94% of the electricity to heat and only 6% to light. This compares to standard heaters that produce around 60% heat and 40% light. This light is usually very garish, gives food an off appearance and wastes energy that should be creating warmth.
- Short wave Infrared heaters are the most highly transmissive but least absorbed in the skin (in fact the skin has developed certain defences that also naturally reflect up to 35% of short wave Infrared). Although short wave heaters are extremely hot (1000°+), both excessive duration and proximity of the exposure by this infrared type can damage both skin and the eyes. Short wave heaters is recognised in the hospitality industry as the cause of “Hot heads”, headaches and “Dry eye” problems because it tends to be mis-applied to “Comfort” heating situations and consequently placed far too close to people, causing discomfort and potential health problems.
- Our elements use a chromium alloy instead of tungsten. This allows them to be switched on and off constantly without any detrimental effect on lifespan. Hence, our heaters can be used in conjunction with motion sensors so that they switch on when customers arrive and switch off when they leave, allowing for significant savings. When tungsten heats up, there is a momentary 300% reduction in its resistance which causes a current spike since volts = current x resistance. The voltage is constant so a drop in resistance means the current must increase accordingly. This constant spiking would blow standard elements quickly if motion sensors were used. This does not occur with chromium alloy and our elements have a minimum lifespan of 7000 hours, equating to 3 years of normal use.
- Alfresco Heaters use a 98% pure, mirror finish, Aluminium reflector. The purity of the reflector along with the angle of curvature ensures optimum amplification of the infra red energy, enlarging the heat footprint considerably.
- Wind chill is caused by cold air carrying the heat away from the surface of the skin and no heater can prevent this from happening. However, as Alfresco Heaters produce light that cannot be blown away, customers will be instantly warmed between gusts of cold wind. Standard heaters need to warm the air, an impossible task in windy conditions.
- Alfresco Heaters come in single or dual element formats. Dual element heaters can be switched to run on a single element in milder conditions, reducing power consumption by 50%.
- Our heaters cost between 10 – 13 pence / kw / hr to operate depending on local electricity rates The main cost incurred with heaters is having them operating when customers are absent. The only way to control this is to rely on motion sensors / touch pads rather than staff. Outdoor areas are very valuable and heating them properly will pay major financial dividends. Customers prefer to be outdoors and will remain for longer, spending more if they are comfortable.