Infrared vs Convection Heaters: What to Source for Your Market

If you're sourcing electric heaters for your market, the first question you'll face is infrared vs convection. Both sell well, but they're not interchangeable. Get this wrong and you'll be stuck with a container of returns and a reputation problem.

I've been building heaters since 2009, and I've seen buyers lose money on the wrong technology. Let's cut through the marketing and talk about what actually matters for your customers.

The core difference: heat the air vs heat the objects

Convection heaters pull cold air in, run it over a heating element, and push warm air out. They heat the room's air. Infrared heaters emit electromagnetic radiation that heats people and objects directly, not the air. Think of standing in sunlight on a cold day. That's infrared.

This isn't a minor detail. It changes who buys your product, where they use it, and how they feel about it.

Where convection wins: whole-room comfort

Oil-filled radiators and wall-mounted convection panels are the workhorses. They're quiet, they don't glow, and they keep a room at a steady temperature. If your customer wants to heat a bedroom overnight or an office during the day, convection is the answer.

An oil-filled radiator with a 1500W element and a good thermostat will cycle on and off, holding a room at 20°C without blasting hot air. It's the closest thing to central heating without the pipes. For a silent electric heater for a bedroom, this is what your buyers should look for.

Convection panels are cheaper to produce and ship, and they mount on walls, freeing floor space. They're popular in Europe and the UK, where homes are smaller and people want something that doesn't sit in the middle of the room.

Where infrared wins: speed and spot heating

Infrared heaters are instant. Turn one on and you feel it in seconds. No waiting for the air to warm. That makes them ideal for garages, workshops, and warehouses where you don't want to heat the entire volume of air. You just want to warm the person standing near the machine.

If your customer is asking about an electric heater for a garage or workshop, infrared is often the better recommendation. It's also cheaper to run in that scenario, because you're not wasting energy heating empty space. But it won't warm the whole room evenly. Someone 3 meters away will feel a different temperature than someone 1 meter away.

Infrared also doesn't dry out the air as much, which some people prefer. But it can feel harsh if you sit too close for too long.

The cost question: energy efficient electric heater, really?

Every buyer asks about the energy efficient electric heater. Here's the blunt truth: all resistive electric heaters are about 100% efficient. Every watt of electricity becomes heat. The difference is where that heat goes and how long it lasts.

A 1500W convection heater running for 3 hours uses 4.5 kWh. A 1500W infrared heater running for 3 hours uses the same. The difference is that infrared can be turned off sooner because it heats you directly. But if you need to heat a whole room, convection will do it with less running time.

Don't let anyone sell you on "infrared is 30% more efficient." That's nonsense. What matters is the use case. For spot heating, infrared wins. For whole-room heating, convection wins. That's it.

What your customers will actually ask

You'll hear these questions from your buyers:

• "Is this an oil filled radiator vs convection heater?" They want to know which is better for their climate. Oil-filled radiators hold heat longer after the element cycles off, so they feel more stable. Convection panels respond faster to thermostat changes.

• "Does this work for a bathroom?" If your market requires IP24 protection, you need a sealed unit. Most wall-mounted convection panels can be made IP24. Oil-filled radiators usually aren't rated for bathrooms because of the exposed controls. Infrared ceiling panels can work, but they need proper clearance.

• "Can I control it with my phone?" Wi-Fi smart electric heaters are becoming standard in many markets, especially North America and Northern Europe. We can add Wi-Fi modules to most of our units, but it adds cost. Don't spec it unless your buyers actually want it.

What to source for your market

Let me give you a practical breakdown based on what we ship:

• Europe and UK: Wall-mounted convection panels with IP24 for bathrooms and oil-filled radiators for living spaces. CE and UKCA certs are non-negotiable. ERP compliance matters. Lead time is usually 30 days.

• North America: Oil-filled radiators and infrared quartz heaters sell well. Amazon sellers prefer the 1500W size because it maxes out a standard 15-amp circuit. They want UL or ETL, not just CE. MOQ is 200 pcs per model.

• Garages and workshops (anywhere): Infrared tube heaters or high-mounted quartz units. Industrial fan heaters also work if you need forced air. These are less about comfort and more about function.

• RVs and campers: This is a niche but growing. A 12v electric heater is a tough sell because it can't produce much heat without draining batteries. We recommend 12V for defrosting windshields, not for heating the cabin. For that, a small 400W convection panel on shore power is more practical.

A real comparison number

Let's put two heaters side by side. A 1500W convection panel and a 1500W infrared heater in a 20 square meter room with average insulation. At 0°C outside, the convection panel will raise the room to 18°C in about 45 minutes and then cycle on and off. The infrared heater will make you feel warm in 10 minutes, but the air temperature will stay around 10°C. If you sit still, infrared feels fine. If you move around, you'll notice the cold spots.

For a bedroom, that means you wake up cold if the infrared heater is across the room. For a workshop, you don't care about air temperature because you're moving.

How to choose electric heater for your catalog

If you're building a catalog, don't pick one technology. Stock both. Convection for the mainstream, infrared for the niche. That way you answer different buyer searches without forcing one product to do everything.

Look at your existing sales data. If you already sell heaters, what returns are you getting? If people complain about slow heating, they bought convection and expected infrared speed. If they complain about cold rooms, they bought infrared and expected convection coverage. That's your market telling you what to stock next.

One honest takeaway

Don't buy infrared because it's trendy. Don't buy convection because it's traditional. Buy based on what your customer is actually heating and how long they plan to run it. A distributor who understands this can sell either technology with confidence. A private label brand that ignores it will get bad reviews no matter how good the build quality is.

We've made both for over a decade. The technology isn't complicated. The application is where the value lies.