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IRED's mission is to provide services to our members that will enhance our abilities to provide infrared energy products and services to end users in the industrial heat processing industry.

IRED members work together to provide:
*	Infrared Awareness
*	Infrared Seminars
*	Energy Savings
*	Ensure all of our member companies and utilities practice fair trade
*	Marketing common goals that help our industry grow

What is Infrared?
Radiation heating is the transfer of heat using invisible electromagnetic waves of energy from a heat source to the object to be heated. Infrared is one of several ways to accomplish radiation heating along with ultraviolet, microwave, radio frequency, and induction.

One of the first forms of heat transfers each of us encounter is radiant. The sun beam that warms us is radiant heat. Radiant energy is not absorbed by air and does not actually become heat until an object absorbs it. While radiant energy does generally show up as heat, this is because it vibrates and rotates the atoms in the absorbing object, which results in a rise in the temperature of that object. However, radiant energy may also show up as a chemical change in the absorbing object (polymerization) or evaporation of water or solvents (drying).

Why Infrared?

In most applications, infrared heating offers numerous advantages over convection heating including:

Higher rate of heat transfer
Higher efficiency
Floor space savings
Lower maintenance
Faster response
Greater control accuracy
Ability to control temperature by zoning
Lower capital expense and install cost

Infrared heating is more efficient than convection because a higher percentage of the input energy goes into the product rather than being lost to the surrounding air and lost up the flue. In addition, infrared ovens do not require long pre-production heat-up periods like convection ovens do. During these periods, a significant amount of energy is consumed without any product being produced.

The shorter dwell times with infrared heating can translate to a much smaller oven , which can save valuable floor space, capital cost, and installation cost.

Controlling the heating process is one of the main advantages of using infrared. Whether you are using long, medium, or short-wave infrared, gas or electric energy sources; utilizing infrared's controllability to fine tune your process adds efficiency, higher production rates and better quality control.

The IRED Business Case Tool

The IRED Business Case Tool allows users to compare the economics of an existing industrial heating process with one optional process. This workbook is designed to compare existing natural gas fired equipment with infrared heaters powered by either natural gas or electric, but also can be used to compare any type of process heating technologies.

Contact one of the IRED members for the Business Case Tool.