Herschel Comfort panels chosen to heat beautiful self build

Herschel Comfort panels chosen for self-build

Sophie Arnold was embarking on a huge self build project that involved knocking down the ‘tin shed’ that was on the land they acquired and started from fresh with a new design and building project. After a long renovation project, the final result is a beautiful designed and decorated Scandi-style home that is heated by infrared panels throughout, the infrared panels perfectly complementing the stunning interior. Sophie outlines why she chose infrared panels, over a heat pump, as the heating solution for her self build. Take a look inside the stunning interior and hear why Sarah chose infrared and how her Herschel Comfort panels, and her Select XLS Mirror panels for bathrooms, are performing.

Sophie was planning to build a house that they wanted to be “as eco-friendly as we could. We weren’t going to go the full passive house route, but we wanted it to get as close as we possibly could to that. So, the obvious choices were either ground source or air source. I’ve lived with both and found them really uncontrollable and the heat quite cloying. I’ve travelled quite extensively in Scandinavia and just walking into those spaces heated by infrared; they just have a completely different feel. You’re warm, but it’s not oppressive heat. So, I was really keen to go down that route because it’s controllable, you feel more alive in it. And because, well, it’s a fraction of the cost”.

Sophie describes how she did get a quote to put in air source heating. The cost of the infrared was less than 25% of the heat pump quote.

Choosing Herschel Comfort panels

“When we first started this project the comfort range wasn’t available. This is a very new product. But it was three years between the initial investigation and actually having it fitted by which time it was. The efficiency is better, the controllability was better and particularly important to us was that actually it’s made in the UK. It was in line with the principles that we were trying to build on. By the time we got there, it was an absolute no-brainer”. Sophie uses MD2 thermostats to control her heaters.

Sophie also installed Select XLS Mirror panels in her bathrooms, a dual purpose mirror heater with the additional benefit that it does not steam up. “The heaters are the mirrors, which give the most incredible heat off. You’ve got the added bonus of the mirrors don’t steam up. You can have the most fantastic shower and you come out to an absolutely clear mirror”.

Integration with Eco-Friendly Design

Alongside the infrared heating technology, Sophie wanted the house to be entirely electric. The fully electric home is equipped with 55 solar panels with plans to install a battery system at a later date. “Solar panels are very important as part of that integration, which obviously means that our heating is effectively, we’re as close to being able to be off the grid as it’s possible. We are attached to the grid, but we’ve been positive in our usage throughout the winter.”

Other Benefits from Choosing Infrared

In Sophie’s testimonial she outlines the ease with which the electrician installed the infrared panels, the wiring being set up as part of the second fix. The entire house was fitted within two and a half days. “If I was ever going to do a project like this again, I absolutely would choose this system again…. for ease of fitting, for the comfort, for the aesthetic, for the cost”.