The Boekamp quartz heater radiant warmth

Press, 30 April 1981, Page 23

The Boekamp quartz heater radiant warmth

An energy saving electric heater that stands upright that operates at higher temperatures for greater efficiency. and that can be programmed to cycle on and off to save power those are among the unusual features of a revolutionary heater launched on the New Zealand market this autumn.

Developed by a former aerospace engineer with the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration. the Boekamp Quartz Energy Saver Heater has sold in hundreds of thousands in North America since its introduction.

Its essential appeal, says the heater's inventor. Konrad Boekamp. is that it heats people not just the ceiling, walls or thin air.

The Boekamp heater is manufactured in New Zealand by Robinson Industries of East Tamaki. Auckland, under licence to Boekamp. Inc., of San Diego. California. Production of the heater began at Robinson Industries last spring with orders totall-

ing 65.000 units tor the Canadian market. Now it is available tor the New Zealand winter Much of the efficiency ot the heater is owed to its vertical format, according to Konrad Boekamp A conventional horizontal radiator with curved reflector back is

wasting much of its heat by directing it at the floor or ceiling, he claims The Boekamp heater, standing upright because people sit or stand upright, directs its heat in a 130 degree horizontal arc so that seated people gam maximum benefit from it' with least waste

The heater warms pou directly with radiant lieat and you become comfortable very quickly without having to wail for the air in the room as a whole to warm to comfortable levels, as with convection heating A conve C ti O!l heater relies on air bemg drawn over its heating elements, . the warmed air then rising and cooler air moving in to replace it Thus, a room heats from the top down Radiant heating, on the other hand, is the direct emission of heat in line of sight Warmth from the sun or from the coals of a hot fire' are examples of radiant heat and fr neither case is heat lost until it reaches an object Which -will absorb that heat

The Boekamp heater heats objects or people - in line with its 130 degree horizontal ‘arc Warmth then .passes from' the people or objects to heat the air in a room The point is. says Boekamp. that people can be comfortable almost immediately '

Asecond feature of the Boekdmp heater is that it incorporates an energy controller ■ which allows the heater to cycle on and off like a refrigerator to maintain any desired comfort level. The heater is set in any position from "Lo" to ‘ Hl’" and it will then cycle on and off. according to" setting, to supply heating power for anything from approximately 23 per cent to a full 100 per cent of its 30 second cycles.

A third factor in the heater’s efficiency is its use of quartz tubes surrounding

the wound steel heating elements The technological problems in mounting a heating element and quartz tube vertically wee the greatest to be ove’-come when it came to manufacture of the Boekamp heater But the problems we r e overcome wire the result that, with its quartz tube, the heater is able to operate at the most efficient end of the temperature scale or at up to 500 degrees hotter than a con-vection-type heater At the higher temperatures. the greater part of the electrical energy supplied is converted to infra-red radiant heat which is emitted from the heating element to heat people in its path with only minimal energy loss An added aspect of radiant heating is that it can be used oir.side perhaps at a barbecue or keeping you warm while working on the car because it does not relj r on heating the atmosphere Boekamp has specified a highly polished aluminium reflector plate for the heater so that it will maintain its’ brilliance and radiant heat.. reflecting property indefin-;' itely • Rusted surfaces of many conventional electric heaters — which .often deters; iorate early in their life mean great loss of efficiency The Boekamp heater incorporates an automatic cutoff switch to turn off the power if the heater should be knocked over The quartz, tube encases the heating element so that it is not possible for curious-children to. get an electric shock by poking something through the protective bars.