HEATING
Infrared: a heat pump alternative?
While heat pumps are widely promoted as the primary low-carbon solution, their application across a diverse and ageing healthcare estate presents both financial and practical constraints. Here, Mohamed Hanslod, managing director of Bri-Tek Technologies and Infrared Heating Supplies, explains how far infrared (FIR) heating represents a credible, lower-cost, and operationally flexible alternative.
The NHS estate encompasses an extensive portfolio of buildings constructed across multiple decades, often serving very different clinical and operational functions. These variations create significant challenges for any single heating strategy. Common characteristics include: n A large proportion of ageing buildings affected by damp and fabric deterioration.
n Poor or inconsistent levels of insulation. n A mixture of modern facilities alongside legacy infrastructure.
n Highly variable occupancy patterns, ranging from intermittently used spaces to continuously occupied clinical environments operating 24/7.
n Differing thermal comfort expectations among occupants, particularly within wards where patients and staff frequently prefer different temperatures, often resulting in windows being opened while heating systems remain operational.
Such conditions complicate the deployment of conventional low-temperature heating technologies.
Cost and practical considerations of heat pumps
Below: Wall panel. Right: White bar heater.
Bottom right: Black bar heater.
Heat pump installation within existing healthcare facilities can involve substantial capital investment and operational disruption. Retrofitting requirements frequently extend beyond plant replacement to include wider building remediation works and electrical infrastructure upgrades. Ongoing servicing and maintenance also contribute to lifecycle costs. I am sure anyone who has managed and overseen a heat pump project will know that not only will it
be highly complex but, depending on the building, the cost will be high. Although heat pumps can reduce operational emissions,
several practical limitations arise within older healthcare buildings: n Reduced performance in poorly insulated structures, particularly during periods of extreme cold.
n Continuous system operation required to maintain comfort levels, increasing electricity demand beyond available on-site renewable generation capacity.
n Higher operational costs where building fabric losses remain significant.
n Continued reliance on supplementary or fossil-fuel backup systems during peak demand conditions.
n Requirement for electrical upgrades such as substations, transformer capacity increases, and grid reinforcement.
n Spatial constraints associated with external plant, rooftop equipment, and thermal storage systems.
n Upgrading or replacement of existing heat distribution systems, often requiring significantly larger radiators to operate at lower flow temperatures.
These factors highlight the importance of exploring complementary or alternative heating approaches.
Infrared heating: what it is and how it works This discussion focuses specifically on far infrared (FIR) heating rather than near infrared systems commonly associated with visible radiant heaters. Far infrared technology: n Emits invisible radiant heat comparable to solar warmth
76 Health Estate Journal May 2026
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