Room heating
Central Heating
When a new central heating unit was installed, a few zones were made.
Each zone can be temperature controlled independent of the other zones.
I had my own temperature control in the part of the house where my
bedroom and living room is.
I kept the temperature day and night at 22°C (or higher if my
neck problems cause more troubles).
Because of the constant temperature, it is easier for me to keep myself
warm, so I can cope better with my neck problems.
The gas usage was increased by 10%.
I thought it was something special, not to lower the temperature setting
of the central heating during the night.
But a study in 2012 showed that 27% of the households in the Netherlands
do not turn the temperature of the central heating down at night.
The name of the research: "Residential Energy Literacy and Capitalization."
Since 2018 the new build houses in the Netherlands are energy efficient.
For those houses it is better to keep the temperature the same during day and night.
In 2013 the temperature was set to 23°C.
In 2016 I set the temperature to 23.5°C.
That was the lowest temperature that I needed during day and night.
By setting the central heating to 23.5°C, the actual temperature was often 24°C.
From 2018 to 2022 I was able to walk around every day and go swimming regularly.
Because my body started to get used to swimming in cold water, I tried to lower the temperature in my house.
That did not work well. When I had more problems with my neck, I still needed that temperature of 23.5°C.
My neck complaints increased at the beginning of 2023 and in 2024 I had to set the temperature to 25°C.
It was a cold summer in 2024, so the Central Heating was on in the summer.
Infrared panel
I have two infrared panels. One works very well and the other one works a lot less.
That makes it easy to describe what is good and what does not work.
How does an infrared panel work.
An infrared panel works on electricity and has a large warm surface that emits heat radiation.
The panel can be, for example, 100 °C (212 °F).
It does not heat the air, but it heats the objects and people nearby with heat waves.
Because there is no circulation of warm air, there is also no circulation of dust in the room.
A heat pump is more efficient to generate heat than an infrared panel, but if,
for example, only one person needs to be warm, then an infrared panel can be more efficient.
Different names are used for an infrared panel:
infrared panel, radiant heat panel, infrared heater, electric radiant panel.
What is good.
It works more efficient with a large surface that is evenly warm over the whole surface
without heat or cold spots. A metal front spreads the heat and works therefor well.
A good infrared panel reflects the heat that is emitted to the back. Such panels are thicker.
The heat can be reflected by an insulation between the heating elements and a metal backside.
The metal backside reflects the heat.
A large panel with a lower temperature is more efficient than a small panel at a higher temperature.
The infrared panel can be a ceiling plate. For example, in a work or hobby space, when someone stands or sits
mostly in the same location, then an infrared panel can be placed above it.
What does not work.
There are online reviews that the infrared panels do not work. Someone turns on the panel,
and checks the room a few hours later. The temperature of the room has barely changed.
That is not how an infrared panel should be used. It does not make the room warmer,
only the objects and people nearby.
One of my infrared panels has heating wires inside gypsum.
The backside is almost as warm as the front side, so there is no heat reflecting layer in it.
The heat is emitted by the heating wires and not by a surface.
That panel works much worse than a good panel.
Some panels have a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the air. That does not
work, because the air is not heated.
Last change to this page: July 2026
