Effectively heating a large industrial warehouse is essential to ensure operators a healthy and comfortable working environment during the winter period.
The market offers numerous solutions for industrial heating, including gas or electric infrared radiant systems, convection systems, warm air generators, underfloor heating, and heat pumps.
Radiant systems are certainly an effective and sustainable solution in terms of energy and management costs. They allow natural heating of industrial warehouses, storage facilities, and workshops without heat loss. Among the most well-known and widely used systems are gas radiant strips, radiant tubes, and water-based radiant panels.
How do they work and what are the main differences between these infrared systems? Let's explore them together in this article.
Table of Contents
Gas radiant strips: what they are, advantages and application sectors
What is a radiant strip?
It is a system consisting of a heat generator positioned outside the warehouse, a radiant circuit installed on the ceiling, and a temperature control device.
The generator produces a mixture of air and combustion gases that circulates inside the radiant circuit, composed of one or more tubes positioned parallel to each other. The tubes are insulated laterally and on top by a frame incorporating glass wool to minimize heat loss and consequently increase radiant capacity.
Once heated, the pipes emit energy in the form of infrared radiation; this allows rapid heating of objects within the area, directly striking the floor, machinery, and people, creating an immediate sensation of warmth.
The radiant circuit, being positioned in the upper part of the warehouse, does not occupy useful production space and is composed of pre-assembled modules joined together through carbon fiber joints, which ensure a tight seal and allow tube expansion.
A radiant strip heating system has a minimum power of 30 kW and a maximum power of 300 kW and can reach a length of 150 meters.
Thanks to radiant strips, there is no need for a dedicated boiler room on site, which would take up valuable production space.
Each radiant strip is autonomous and can be adjusted according to specific needs to create the right comfort level based on the work performed within that particular zone.
Advantages of radiant strips
Gas radiant strips offer numerous advantages:
- Uniform heat distribution in the environment without temperature differences within the same zone
- Rapid achievement of thermal comfort
- Long-term energy savings
- Targeted temperature adjustment based on requirements
- Flexible positioning of radiant lines based on production area space requirements
- Silent operation
Industrial radiant strips: operation and advantages
Discover how industrial radiant strips work and why they guarantee effective and uniform heating in large industrial environments such as warehouses, factories, and storage facilities.
Application scope of radiant strips
Radiant strips are ideal for industrial environments such as warehouses and storage facilities with heights exceeding 5 meters and can heat environments with heights exceeding 10 meters.
They can also be used to heat railway workshops, hangars, and medium to large sports facilities.
Radiant tube modules: what they are, advantages and industrial sectors
The operation of radiant tubes is very similar to that of radiant strips, although they are constructed differently.
Radiant tubes are high-efficiency autonomous heaters, consisting of a burner unit, calorized aluminized steel radiant pipes, and a flue gas extractor that completes the circuit.
As with radiant strips, the radiant tube system is installed in the upper part of the building to avoid occupying production space on the ground; the power range varies from a minimum of 15 kW to a maximum of 52 kW.
The radiant circuit can have a minimum length of 3 meters up to a maximum of 18 meters.
While radiant strips are suitable for heating entire buildings ensuring uniform heat distribution across the entire surface, radiant tube heating systems are particularly suitable for zone heating, as they guarantee excellent performance with minimum consumption, thanks to the ability to direct the radiant beam toward specific areas.
As with radiant strips, the burner unit burns a mixture of air and gas that circulates inside the radiant pipes. The heated tubes emit heat into the environment in the form of infrared waves that directly heat people present in the environment, the floor, and machinery without heat loss.
Reflective parabolas made of aluminum or stainless steel are installed above the radiant tubes, essential elements for concentrating and reflecting radiation downward, as well as preventing the dispersion of the minimal amount of heat formed by convective effect. The greater the amount of heat reaching the ground, the greater the energy savings.
Advantages of radiant tubes
Radiant tube modules offer numerous advantages in terms of comfort and economic savings.
The main ones include:
- Rapid heating
- No air and dust movement in the environment
- Comfortable temperatures without heat loss
- No additional noise in the work area
Industrial sectors for radiant tubes
Radiant tubes are the most effective radiant solution for heating industrial environments with heights exceeding 5 meters up to heights greater than 10 meters. These heating systems are ideal for warehouses, storage facilities, railway workshops, hangars, and sports facilities.
Water radiant ceiling panels: what they are, advantages and application areas
What are radiant ceiling panels?
Radiant panels are ceiling-mounted radiant heating systems consisting of panels operating with hot water, superheated water, or steam. The water used for radiant panels can be heated in various ways: with a gas boiler, pellet boiler, through photovoltaic panels, heat pump, and so on.
The structure of radiant panels is made of high-quality steel with a thermosetting epoxy powder surface treatment that provides long-lasting durability and ensures high radiant emission.
Water-based radiant panels are a natural heating system: the transmission of heat from the fluid to the emitting plates and from these to the environment does not require special mechanical or electrical components, but occurs according to the physical laws governing heat transmission.
Available in various lengths and widths, the panels can be joined together through sleeves to create radiant panel heating systems of the desired length.
The radiant panels also ensure uniform temperature across the entire radiant surface for uniform heat distribution in the area to be heated.
Advantages of radiant ceiling panels
Water-based radiant panels have numerous advantages; the main ones include:
- Uniform heat distribution throughout the building
- No noise in the environment
- No air and dust movement
- Energy savings and reduced operating costs
- Ability to cool work areas in summer
- Minimal maintenance
Application scope of radiant ceiling panels
Unlike radiant strips and tubes, radiant panels are ideal for industrial environments with heights even below 5 meters and represent the optimal choice for warehouses with high fire or explosion risk. They are ideal for heating warehouses, storage facilities, workshops, commercial premises, sports facilities, and hangars.
Thanks to their minimal design and standard white/gray coloring, shades that easily adapt to any environment, radiant panels are ideal in industrial, sports, and commercial environments where aesthetic impact must be minimized or where architectural constraints exist.
Conclusion
In summary: radiant strips offer uniform heat distribution, radiant tubes provide a flexible solution, and radiant panels present a targeted and efficient approach especially for high fire-risk environments. The choice among these technologies will depend on the specific requirements of the environment in question, considering factors such as energy efficiency, heating speed, and ease of installation.
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