Whilst high ceilings may mean that access is trickier, so long as installers can use appropriate scaffolding and install the Heritage Heaters so they are at the correct recommended heights, meaning the heaters will provide an effective heating system.

All Heritage Heaters can be used on single phase (as well as 3-phase supply). If there is a limited power supply, there are a number of options that can be considered. The number of heaters installed can be managed and operated within the supply so they are not all on at the same time, the number of heaters installed can be reduced to only heat the priority areas or a staggered approach to installation can be considered if a power upgrade is planned at a later date.

You have the flexibility to phase the installation of heaters in different areas. Herschel heaters can be installed in stages, allowing you to prioritise certain areas or zones within your church or heritage building. This phased approach can be beneficial for managing costs and ensuring that you address the heating needs of specific spaces first. Herschel’s modular and customisable solutions make it easy to plan and implement phased installations that best suit your requirements and budget.

The Heritage Heaters can be installed by qualified electricians, providing a non-intrusive installation for building managers with no skill shortage issues. As part of the Heritage Specification Service we provide, we will find an installer near you to carry out the work.

The Heritage Heating range has no moving parts and requires no maintenance or servicing, unlike heat pumps and boilers. This represents a significant cost saving over the lifetime of the heating system. The Heritage Heating range has been designed so that all parts have long lifetimes and are easily replaceable.

Yes absolutely. Under the scheme listed churches can claim a grant in lieu of VAT, and thus significantly reduce the net capital cost in installation.

There are 3 types of heat transfer: Conduction, Convection and Radiant Heating.  Infrared heating is radiant heating and it differs from conduction and convection because it transfers heat to objects and people directly, without heating something else in between (air, water, metal etc.). Convection heaters heat air, which rises to the ceiling where the heat is not required and can quickly disappear on draughts. Infrared heating directly heats the walls, floor and ceiling of a building to build up thermal mass which will then start radiating back into the room. Radiant heat transfer is a very efficient form of electric heating.

Watch our video to understand how infrared heaters work

Infrared heaters offer a vast number of benefits in terms of efficiency, comfort and practicality. Infrared heating is a low energy, efficient electric heating solution that can be combined with renewables to give you a sustainable heating solution. It is simple to install and is maintenance free, minimising the disruption caused by underfloor heating and avoiding the annual maintenance costs required by heat pumps. Available in a number of stylish finishes, infrared heaters provide a modern and space-saving option whatever the environment and free up valuable floor space. Infrared heating is also widely recognised for delivering improved comfort levels, with a natural and fresh feeling of heat rather than the stuffy heat that alternative heating solutions can often create. Infrared heating is also great for buildings as it maintains a higher temperature in the material of the building, reducing the causes of moisture and minimises condensation, damp and mould.

The technology used within Heritage Heaters is far infrared. This is different from the technology used by other more ‘traditional radiant heaters’ from other providers, which have typically used shortwave infrared technology and the feeling of comfort from far infrared is a much more gentle feeling of warmth, ideal for the heating of people. We use the analogy of watering a tender plant with a hose. The old technology is akin to the hose being on ‘jet’, highly targeted, whereas the technology in Halo is akin to the hose being on ‘fine mist’ – everything gets gently wetted (or gently and comfortably heated).

Our Heritage Heaters can be used to heat people effectively and comfortably regardless of the duration the warmth is required for.

Feedback from an installation of Halo heaters at St Matthew’s Church is that the Halo provides very good levels of comfort which St Matthew’s characterise as ‘better than we ever had from the radiators’ and they describe the actual effect to feeling like a ‘bubble of heat’ – to the point that they note it ‘doesn’t feel like it’s actually coming from the heaters themselves’.

Heritage Heaters, including Halo will work very well for churches that are in regular use. As an example, St Matthew’s is in regular, daily use and they run the Halo heating in exactly the same way as one would turn on the lighting. They have confirmed that Halo is switched on only as and when required, and when the use is occurring. Within 10 minutes they have their required comfort – with no need for background heating at other times. This is completely different to alternative systems which require low background convective heat to be kept on for long periods and this subsequently requires boosting to heat services and events. This is not required when using Halo and this is why Halo is such an efficient system for providing comfort.

Halo heaters can be controlled individually or grouped into zones. The InfraSense touchscreen central control is extremely easy to use with the option of one-touch manual power level selector (low, medium and high) or intelligent automatic mode to set and control a temperature.

No they will not. The Halo emitters are completely different to the old quartz ray emitters that were previously common for this type of application. The effect felt is more of a space heating, gentle comfort and this was specifically tested with occupiers at St Matthew’s – no frazzle of heads or cold feet was detected.

Yes the Heritage Heating range will work well in providing comfortable warmth during cold winters and the Herschel Heritage team will ensure the required number of heaters are specified in accordance with your requirements.

In the installation at St Matthew’s, the Halo heater specification totals 31.2 kW (on full power). This compares to their existing central heating (at St Matthew’s) of 186kW. So far (during October/ November 2022) the results show that Halo is providing comfort at 1/3 of the total power, and therefore we do not anticipate any problems in dealing with colder temperatures at full power for St Matthew’s or any other church or heritage property.

The radiant wavelength is similar to that which humans radiate, and the measurable surface temperatures are no greater than they would be through human contact. The feeling of heat is similar to that of the heat of the sun through a window and there is no additional risk of differential expansion than that. (Conversely, this has previously been a risk from using quartz ray/near IR type heaters and is also true of radiators). Historic artefacts and monuments are a specialist area and Herschel will work with you during the design and specification process to ensure all sensitivities are considered.

No, not at all, in fact the design of our Heritage range has been specially developed to complement interiors – the Horizon comes with the option to add bespoke décor to the finish, and the Halo comes with this as well as the option to add dimmable LED lighting and bespoke colour. Traditional radiant solutions have emitted a strong red, intrusive glow from the heating element however the Heritage Heaters emit zero light heat. We fully expect the aesthetic design of the Heritage Heaters to be very well received and another one of the benefits of installing the Herschel Heritage Heaters.

As can be seen from the images below, the Halos heating St Michael’s Church incorporate a bespoke finish that has been designed to match the church’s baptismal font. Beautifully finished, the motif on the Halos creates a stunning and complementary addition to the heating system.

Infrared heating is a fantastic solution for those wanting to improve their carbon footprint and move to a more sustainable, low carbon form of heating. The future is electric and infrared heating is a hugely practical electric heating solution that offers a greener alternative to gas boilers. Quick to install, infrared heaters provide a very practical way to switch to a lower carbon solution and reduce emissions. Infrared heating can be powered by solar panels and linked with battery storage to reduce reliance on the grid and future proof energy costs. Infrared heating can also be powered by a renewable energy tariff to deliver the quickest way to reach net zero heating.

Infrared heating positively impacts indoor air quality. Unlike traditional convectional heating systems, infrared directly heats objects, meaning it does not heat the air. Not only does this make infrared heating a much more comfortable warmth, this also means that no dust, allergens, or other pollutants are being spread around the building. Another benefit that infrared heating has on indoor air quality is the reduction of moisture, which helps to prevent mould and condensation.

As a heating solution we are confident that infrared heating provides one of the most sustainable options for the built environment. There is increasing need for the population to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and utilise low carbon, energy efficient technologies.

Herschel Infrared heating provides a future-proof heating solution that delivers lower emissions alongside improved efficiency and comfort levels for occupiers and can be coupled with renewable energy sources and battery storage. We have been chosen as the heating solution for a number of net-zero carbon emitting new homes, including the ‘COP26 House’ in Glasgow, built by Beyond Zero Homes, as well as a number of other eco builds built by housing developers. We are proud to have heated the COP26 House which achieved a 59% reduction on its whole life embodied carbon assessment versus RIBA’s ‘business as usual’ standard.

Herschel Infrared panels are solid state and present a zero maintenance, long life solution, with low embodied carbon. At Herschel, we keep sustainability at the forefront of our proposition and our infrared panel heaters are over 95% fully recyclable at end of life and our packaging is close to 100% recyclable.

No, you do not need to have all the heaters on at the same time for them to work. Herschel’s Heritage range is designed to be operated individually or in zones, depending on how and when the space is being used, and this ensures that the heaters are run in the most cost-efficient way.

With sufficient heaters we can heat the entire church. However, this is unlikely to be the most cost-effective way of heating as it will consume a high amount of energy, especially in older, poorly insulated churches that were never built to be heated.

For churches with less frequent use “Sunday Churches” and those that are rarely fully occupied, by far the most cost-effective method will be to provide zones or “bubbles” of heat focused on the area in use. For example the main nave. Other areas not in use can remain unheated. People will be directly warmed by the heaters when they are on within proximity of the infrared heater and often, a shorter pre-heat time is needed to take the chill off the area. The feeling of thermal comfort will be affected by cold air but the radiant heat will provide a good level of comfort for people within the heated area. We usually aim for “real feel” temperatures (the temperature you perceive) of between 17-19°C unless higher comfort levels are required.

If the church is investing in solar, our APX system can automatically provide background heating for the building when electricity is being generated from the solar PV. This can be a useful way of raising the overall internal temperature of the church at nil cost, and zero CO2, and will reduce the demand for heating during services. Our systems will also work with smart “time of use” tariffs from energy providers (such as cheap overnight rates).

It is important to understand that currently, the daytime electricity rate is around 3 times more expensive per kilowatt of energy than fossil fuels. This will change in the future but in the meantime as we transition to net zero, heating bills will be higher if switching from a gas / oil boiler unless the new infrared heating system is used differently to traditional ways of heating and occupants’ expectations levels are managed.

Control, zoning and the placement/heights of the heaters are crucial to a successful installation and energy efficiency.

InfraSense incorporates a simple to use touch screen control tablet ensuring users can easily control the heaters in the space. The touch screen enables InfraSense’s intelligent automatic mode, allowing the Halo heaters to automatically adjust power levels to keep the temperature consistent in each zone. This feature allows you to avoid having to manually monitor and adjust power levels during a service. If you did want to manually control the heaters, then the touch screen control tablet can be used to easily choose your zone, then select the desired temperature. We are also happy to provide additional advice over the phone or email to assist in any way required.

No, InfraSense is a wired system that does not rely on internet connection. There will be an option to connect to the internet using either a supplied sim card for data internet access or your own wi-fi router using an ethernet cable which will allow us to provide remote support and future updates to the controls.

The Heritage Heating range presents a hugely efficient solution for churches and hard-to-heat listed properties as it directly heats people and buildings, rather than wasting energy heating the air. After the initial trial at St Matthew’s the treasurer is predicting (via monitoring use so far) that the energy use of Halo for a typical service is less than 1/9th of the existing use via the central heating. This is a huge saving on energy consumption and as the cost per unit of electricity comes more into line with the unit cost of gas, this saving will become greater still. In addition, when the electricity is powered by renewables, this is a hugely sustainable heating solution.