Nothing on the walls. Every room on its own smart thermostat. Slim white PowerBoard panels on the ceiling warm people and everything in the room directly, instead of heating the air first. Supplied and installed across the UK.
What it actually costs to run, and where the savings come from.
Not per unit: electricity costs more than gas for each unit of heat. What you get instead is room-by-room control, with every room on its own smart thermostat, nothing to service and a lower cost to put in. Your free remote survey works out your own figures. On our stated basis (about 5 heating hours a day, 27p/kWh), a typical 3-bed home costs about £1,064 a year, or about £722 with a battery on a cheaper overnight tariff.
Yes, and infrared panels are one of the best electric loads for solar-generated power. Because they switch on and off instantaneously, they pair well with solar PV and battery storage, surplus daytime generation goes straight into heating, and stored battery energy keeps panels running into the evening. This combination represents the lowest achievable running cost for any UK heating system.
Full running costs, with a calculator for your own rooms
The basics, and how panels are sized for a room.
Infrared ceiling panels emit longwave radiant heat, the same type of warmth produced by sunlight. Unlike gas boilers or electric radiators, which heat the air and rely on convection to warm a room, infrared heats objects and people directly. Rooms feel warm within seconds of switching on, heat is not lost when doors open, and comfort levels are higher at lower air temperatures. The PowerBoard 250W model installs flush into the ceiling void, completely invisible, while the 500W and 750W surface-mount models fix directly to any ceiling type.
Panel wattage is calculated based on room dimensions, ceiling height, insulation level, and glazing area. As a general guide, allow approximately 25W per m² for a well-insulated room with average ceiling height. A 20m² living room would therefore require approximately 500W of infrared heating, typically one or two panels depending on the configuration. Use our free system designer for an accurate room-by-room calculation, or book a free remote heat-loss survey for a precise specification.
The complete guide to infrared heating
Whether infrared can take over from what you have now.
Yes. A correctly sized infrared panel system can fully replace gas central heating in most UK homes. The key requirement is accurate heat loss calculation for each room, which our free remote survey provides. Properties across the UK have already made the complete switch, including period homes, new builds, and commercial conversions. Infrared heating requires no gas supply, no flue, and no boiler cupboard.
Yes. Oil and LPG cost more per unit than mains gas (we use 8.5p a kWh for heating oil against 7.3p for gas), so the running-cost gap infrared has to close is smaller than it is against gas. Oil and LPG also need a fuel tank, regular deliveries and a boiler service, and their prices follow volatile commodity markets. Infrared ceiling heating needs only a mains electricity supply: no tank and no delivery schedule. Our free remote survey covers all property types including those currently on oil or LPG.
Side-by-side comparisons against gas, heat pumps, oil and storage heaters
What happens, how long it takes, and what is included.
Most installations are completed within 1-2 days. A single room installation typically takes just a few hours, while whole house systems (up to 6 rooms) usually take 1-2 days. Our PoweRad-approved installers work efficiently to minimize any disruption to your home.
Our fully installed prices include everything: the PowerBoard infrared panels, thermostat(s), all electrical work, mounting and fixings, full commissioning, electrical certification, and warranty registration. There are no hidden costs or call-out charges.
Very little preparation is needed. We just ask that you clear the areas where panels will be installed and ensure our engineers have access to your electrical consumer unit. Our team will cover floors and furniture to protect your home during the installation process.
Yes, all our installers are part of the PoweRad-approved installer network. They are fully qualified electricians with specific training on PowerBoard infrared panel installation. All work is completed to Part P Building Regulations standards with full electrical certification provided.
PowerBoard panels require a dedicated electrical circuit. Our engineers will assess your existing electrical setup during the free remote survey. Most UK properties have sufficient capacity, but if an upgrade is needed, we'll include this in your quote upfront.
PowerBoard installation is far less disruptive than traditional heating systems - no pipework, no radiators, no boiler. The panels mount on walls or ceilings with minimal mess. Most rooms can be used again within hours of installation being completed.
During your free remote survey, our certified engineer will measure your rooms, assess insulation levels, calculate heat loss requirements, recommend panel sizes and positions, and provide a detailed written quote. This typically takes 30-60 minutes with no obligation.
Yes, PowerBoard panels can be installed in virtually any room including bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, conservatories, and bathrooms (with appropriate IP-rated models). They're particularly effective in rooms that are hard to heat with traditional systems.
Certification, and what you have to do once it is fitted.
Yes. The 250 panel is BEAB Approved, independently certified by Intertek (certificate 30095), the UK's leading independent electrical safety approval, and PowerBoard panels operate at surface temperatures that are warm to touch but not a burn risk. They produce no combustion emissions, no carbon monoxide, and no allergen-carrying air currents. They are particularly suited to homes with young children, elderly occupants, allergy sufferers, and clinical environments. Every installation is carried out by a registered electrician to UK Building Regulations.
No. Infrared panels have no moving parts, no filters, no fluid circuits, and no combustion components. There is nothing to service, adjust, or replace. PowerBoard panels are built to a 30 year design life with no maintenance, and carry a 10 year warranty held in the UK by PoweRad. There is no annual safety check required and no registered engineer needed once installation is complete.
Our certifications and standards
The questions people ask before they buy, answered straight. Infrared is not right for every home and we would rather say so.
It depends on what you are replacing. Replacing storage heaters, oil, LPG or an ageing gas system in a reasonably insulated home: usually yes, on both comfort and running cost. Replacing a nearly-new efficient gas boiler in a small well-insulated home: often not on cost alone, unless you pair it with a battery on an off-peak tariff or solar. We publish exactly how we calculate this, and the free remote heat-loss survey gives you the like-for-like answer for your own home.
The genuine ones: underestimating panel count for a poorly insulated room (fixed by surveying rather than guessing), badly placed panels warming furniture instead of people, and sticker shock at electricity unit rates when the system is run like a convection system instead of zoned. All three are avoidable with honest sizing and room-by-room thermostats.
Each panel draws 250 to 750 watts while heating, far less than a 3kW fan heater, and panels cycle with the thermostat rather than running flat out. The realistic question is monthly cost, which depends on your home and tariff: our running costs page has a calculator that works it out for your rooms, and with zoning most homes only heat the rooms they are actually using.
The opposite, usually. Radiant heat warms walls and surfaces directly, which keeps them above the dew point and reduces the cold spots where condensation forms. It will not fix a building defect like a leaking gutter or rising damp, but compared with convection heating it typically reduces surface condensation.
It heats whole houses, and that is where zoning pays off most: a typical modern 3-bed semi needs around 22 x 250W concealed ceiling panels, or 10 to 14 higher-output 500W/750W surface-mounted panels, with a thermostat per room. Plenty of customers start with one or two rooms and extend, because panels work independently of any existing system. The free remote heat-loss survey sizes the whole house properly.
Because over-promising erodes trust exactly when it matters, at the point you decide. PoweRad is a founder-run Welsh company; the founder is a qualified electrician who designed the panel. If infrared is not right for your home we would rather say so at the survey stage than have an unhappy customer, and everything we claim traces to a published model.