Radiant panel heaters produce radiant heat, as their name implies, usually via infrared rays. They are lightweight, thin heaters that usually are placed flush up against a wall. They are perfect to use in places where there is a not a lot of space, such as bathrooms or even in kitchens, or anywhere that space is limited and there is not a lot of room for bulky heaters. They are also a popular choice for heating a conservatory which is often not on the regular central heating circuit.
The most common type of panel heater works by heating a large quartz cloth surface which in turn radiates this heat out into the room. Other types of panel heaters can be made from stainless steel, ceramic or even high temperature glass. The back of the heater is usually insulated to help prevent heat from bleeding out of the back of the heater. Most panel heaters are electrically operated, with many requiring their own breaker.
The advantages to using panel heaters include the fact that they give out a slow, steady heat and thus are not as likely to overheat (though don’t allow material to cover them, as they could overheat the material and start a fire.) While they can be used in a bathroom, they must be properly grounded, and they should not come in direct contact with water.
Not all panel heaters are necessarily electric though. It is also possible to buy gas panel heaters which work in much the same way as the electric heaters, except they need to be hooked up to the gas supply rather than the electricity.
Ceramic panel heaters are very quick to heat up, and they do look very nice as well. They are sometimes more expensive than the regular quartz cloth heaters, but again that all depends on the actual size of the heater you are buying.
Incidentally, when computing the size of the heater you will need to heat up your space, it’s a wise idea to buy as large a heater as you can afford. While it is always possible to turn down the heater if your room is getting too warm, it is pretty impossible to turn a heater up past its maximum and if you buy a heater that ’should be big enough’ but you get it home and find out that it isn’t hot enough that will be a problem. You will then need to either install a second heater, or take out the one you just bought and buy a new bigger heater. It’s better to calculate so that you have plenty of heat rather than skimping and then finding out your heater doesn’t output enough heat.