Infrared Heater Safety
Space heaters and safety don't usually mix
Space heaters are fire starters. This fact is borne out by the NFPA, plus mounds of anecdotal evidence. Some fires start when people plug a space heater into an overloaded outlet or an extension cord, causing the wiring to overheat. There's not much that any heater design can do to address this error; any appliance drawing similar wattage has the same vulnerability. The more common scenario, however, is when combustible items are placed too close to the front of the heater and those items are directly ignited by heat from the coils. A well-designed enclosed infrared heater can not only mitigate, but eliminate, this risk.
How an infrared heater keeps you safe
No exposed elements
Unlike the exposed radiant coils in a standard electric heater, the six infrared heating tubes in a SolarFlare are hidden deep inside the heater. They are enclosed in a metal heating chamber, which is in turn separated from the cabinet itself by an air barrier. This design makes it virtually impossible for the heat from the tubes to ignite any surface directly. It also makes it more difficult for little fingers to burn themselves on the front grille. While this part of the heater does get hot, it doesn't reach the scorching temperatures of standard space heaters.
Safety switches
In addition to the safety of the physical design, the SolarFlare infrared heater is equipped with dual high-limit switches, which provide additional redundant protection from overheating. The odds against one switch failing are long - but the odds against two failing concurrently are astronomical.
Tip-over resistance
Most standard space heaters are easy to knock over so that their hot grilles press against the carpet. For this reason, they usually come with some kind of tip-over protection device, in the form of a switch that cuts power if the heater goes horizontal. SolarFlare infrared heaters need no such tip-over protection device, because tip-over with a heater like this is almost a non-issue.
In the first place, it would take a truly dedicated effort to knock over a SolarFlare, with its substantial weight and low center of gravity. If one were to somehow get knocked over, it would be much more likely to tip to the side because of its shape, leaving the front grille unobstructed and not in contact with anything flammable.
If someone did manage to tip an infrared heater over toward the front, the probability of it starting a fire, even in that position, is very low. If the grille were blocked, heat would build up inside the cabinet, and the limit switches would kick in, turning the heater off automatically.
