Air Heaters

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Air heaters work by radiating heat into the passing air/fluid. Unfiltered air may contain dirt, grease and water which will reduce heater life, especially for open coil air heaters. Important is an air flow over the air heating element for some time even after the heater is turned off. Use a time delay relay for this. If the temperature sensor is far downstream from the air heating element, place an over-temperature sensor close to the air heater itself. We recommend the use of a flow switch in the airstream to avoid any overheating of the system in case airflow is insufficient.

Air heater
Air heater

Air can be heated with open-coil heaters, tubular heaters, strip heaters and quartz heaters. The choice of one over the other depends mainly on volume, pressure and air velocity. To increase heater life, use a phase-angle fired or zero-cross fired ( SCR ) power control.


Calculate

To calculate the approximate power requirement in kW: multiply the standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) by the temperature difference and divide by 3000. [kW = (SCFM x Delta T)/3000](example: to heat 100 scfm 100 degF you'll need 3.3 kW)


Important factors to consider

  • temperature sensor for air heater
  • temperature controller for air heater
  • electrical power switching for air heater


Heaters