We’re getting to the day where we can say goodbye to heaters and central heating systems and warm up with the latest in smart home heating tech – electric infrared wallpaper.
Behind the plaster of house walls, thin metallic sheets are hidden. These are connected to the mains electricity, and then emit heat by infrared rays. While a regular central heating system warms the air in rooms then circulates it via convection heating. Infrared warms up solid objects in a room. Like, say, people.
Another plus with this new tech is that you can choose to heat only one room at a time, via an app. To go even greener, install solar panels on your roof to power the wallpaper.
Around 23 million homes are connected to the gas grid in the UK, 5.2 million in Australia. The English government wants all homes to have phased out gas-fired boilers by 2035, and pressure may be put on retailers here to stop selling gas-powered appliances due to health concerns.
In the UK, homes account for about 17 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Besides not needing gas, electric wallpaper is believed to result in better air quality. It doesn’t dry out the air as much, and it generates less mould.
So how does electric wallpaper work? It has two copper strips down each side, then a layer of graphene, which is a single layer of carbon atoms. When it is powered by electricity the graphene emits infrared, which is like the heat you get from the sun.
All up, electric wallpaper is seen as a way to reduce a country’s carbon footprint and help meet climate targets.
