Your Wallpaper Could Keep You Warm and Cozy
Homes are usually warmed with radiators or by air blown through vents. Some homes are warmed through a process called radiant floor heating which keeps your floors and feet toasty. Now, a new way of heating is being developed by using the “wallpaper” on your walls.
This wallpaper is not decorative like the ones that adorned homes in years past. This innovative infrared wall covering – which actually goes under and not over plaster – electrically heats a room, reported Eco Watch. And this type of heating technology heats objects, even people, instead of the air and this helps you feel warmer.
Electric Wallpaper
The electric inferred panels which are hidden behind the plaster are connected to the main electrical panels of your home, according to the BBC. Each room can be used independently through an App so you do not have to heat unused rooms. It takes around 20-minutes to heat a room.
One early user, Kris Bilski (31), from the UK, heard about the new technology and decided to try it in his home. He ripped out all the gas-powered radiators before installing the panels. He intends to add solar panels on his roof, to power the electrical panels and reduce his utility costs.
With rising prices for home heating, the panels seemed like the right way to go. “It makes me happy that I don’t rely on gas,” Kris told the BBC. “It’s a new technology that should help us as a country.”
An estimated 23 million homes in the UK are connected to the gas grid but the government wants to phase out gas-fired boilers by 2035. Home heating is responsible for 17 percent of greenhouse gas emissions so removing fossil fuel-based heating will help the environment.
Two Companies are producing the panels
Two UK-based companies are leading the way to switch to the electrical panels; iHelios and NexGen Heating, according to Eco Watch. iHelios produces the infrared panels as well as film sheets. The sheets can be installed beneath floors or on ceilings. Both products are fully recyclable.
The new electric heating systems are available for private homes and IHelios is currently trialing the new technology in public housing in Hull and Wales, reported the BBC. The versions being tested can be fitted while the tenant is still living in the apartment so it makes installation a lot easier.
Heating your home with this type of technology does not heat your water so an additional heating system is required but an energy efficient immersion heater can be used.
While the wallpaper is greener, electricity in the UK is very costly so it is not an economic way to heat homes unless there is a renewable energy source like solar panels used. Still, reducing the dependance on fossil fuels will go a long way to green the UK and help the country meet its climate targets.
