Meet the Wakefield firm developing an innovative method of decarbonising home heating

“Infrared is essentially sunlight without the ultra violet, it's doing exactly what sunlight is doing,” said Oliver Baker, chief executive officer at Ambion.

“The best way to think about it is if you’re outside on a cold day, the air temperatures are not high, but if you step into the sunlight you almost immediately get a sense of warmth.

“That is infrared energy, so in that case from the sun but in our case with our panels, it travels through the air without actually warming it, then hits objects, exciting the molecules in the material it's hitting, which then creates friction and a feeling of warmth.”

In the case of a home heated by infrared, Mr Baker explains, this warmth is then stored within the fabric of the building, allowing the air temperature inside to reach the desired level.

Ambion believes that infrared systems could be a potential solution to decarbonising homes which are unsuitable for heat pump systems, such as high rise or multiple occupancy buildings.

Infrared heating systems require no central boiler system, relying instead on electric-powered panels which are fitted to interior walls.

One of the challenges for infrared heating, however, as with other electric heating systems, is the cost of electricity compared to gas.

“The big challenge for electric heating is that broadly gas is 10p per kilowatt hour (kWh) and electricity 34p per kWh,” said Mr Baker.

“Looking at energy in and kWh of heating out, electricity can already be far more efficient than gas, but the problem is that a kWh of electricity is three to four times the cost of gas.

“Therefore, in this race to net zero, the bit that's not talked about enough is if you’re not careful, you could put utility bills up 3.4 times or more.”

To combat this, Ambion has developed an innovative system of “pulsing and phasing”, wherein the home is first brought up to the desired temperature, and then regulated through the infrared system pulsing between on and off throughout the day to maintain that temperature.

“With an electric system like this, there's only one way you can reduce kWh usage, and that's by switching the system off,” said Mr Baker.

“To make a mainstream solution to take up the net zero challenge, you really need the system to be doing something clever.

“Our system means that on average, across the 24 hour day we are pulsed on for only 14 per cent of the time, whilst still maintaining temperature.”

This method differs from other infrared heating systems which use occupancy switching, turning on when someone enters a room, or rely on a more conventional thermostat.

To bring electric heating systems below the cost of conventional gas heating, developers are also looking to use the technology hand-in-hand with other energy saving measures such as solar and improved insulation.

One such developer is Yorkshire Housing, who Ambion Heating began working with earlier this year.