Case Study: Ecolec Limited

Ecolec Limited is a Wolverhampton based business that supplies electrical panels which are easy to install and economical to run.

The Problem

Ecolec Limited proposed a new product innovation - a panel heater to reduce the occurrence of mould in some under heated bathrooms. Ecolec Limited requested support from BECCI to research, test and develop the new product for the Housing Association market.

Support Required:

• Analysis of thermography heat up video
• Radial spatial analysis of radiant energy
• Product comparison to generic heaters
• Effective range of the heater to deliver comfort
• Modelling the probable cost of running the heater
• Product development recommendations

Support Delivered:

• Heat up times and consistency of temperature tests
• Spatial radiation pattern tests
• 4 panel heaters tested against a high temperature Infra Red heater
• Comfort performance assessment
• Energy use and energy cost assessment
• Innovative product development and exploration recommendations

The Results

1. Stainless steel material performs 10 times worse than white painted heaters and are not suitable.
2. The most likely solution to succeed is a high temperature radiant device.
3. Using average bathroom utilisation times, a high temperature radiant panel could deliver condensation improvements for costs similar to that using a conventional heating system.
4. If the conventional heating system also heated other rooms unnecessarily, the radiant heater delivers cost
   savings