Fostoria Industries, Inc. Comfort Spot Heaters and Controls

We are an authorized distributor for Fostoria Industries, a manufacturer of infrared heating systems.

Spot heating locates the heater above the areas you are located so the air in the entire room is not heated. Infrared heats objects not air, so you are kept warmer even in a relatively cold room. Some heaters use a quartz glass heating element and some use a metal sheath tubular element. Metal heaters last longer, do not emit light, and are not as subject to damage from environmental factors, shock and impact. The advantage of quartz is quick heat up (seconds) and a higher efficiency of infrared. Most types of infrared heaters can be used outdoors, providing it is entirely shielded from rain and wind driven rain. Typically quartz lamp heaters are used because they reach higher temperatures and they are less susceptible to heat loss from wind because of less mass to hold heat which can be lost to a rise in temperature of the air crossing it.

Please fill out the form below to have a Fostoria catalog mailed to you. (U.S.A. only)

*Only when equipped with proper Fostoria infrared heating elements.

**The 4 year Pro-Rated warranty applies only to heating elements purchased under no other warranty terms. The Pro-Rated warranty applies to normal people heating applications and seasonal (outdoor) snow/ice control applications, and does not apply to any process heating application. It is recommended to replace reflectors and end caps when replacing elements, since element life may be adversely affected by reflectors which have lost reflectivity. Failure to replace these parts may affect the Pro-Rated warranty.

Comfort Heating Guidelines from Fostoria:

Electric Infrared Comfort Heating
Spot Heating - Indoor or Outdoor

A spot heating design will maintain an isolated comfort level in a cooler area. The ambient temperature of the surrounding indoor or outdoor areas must be considered to help determine proper input to the area, but will not in turn be affected by the isolated heated area. Many times a series of spot heat areas can be incorporated within the total area to avoid maintaining a higher ambient temperature throughout the building.

Since actual ambient temperatures are not maintained, several factors involved with spot heating must be considered:

The estimator must also have the following specific information available before calculating the heating load and fixture layout:

Total Area Heating

In electric infrared heating for 'Total Area' heat design, the actual fixture layout parallels closely the approach used in a general lighting system, but without as much permissible latitude. The allowable range of air temperature people accept as "comfortable" is very limited. Deviations of a few degrees from the preferred comfort temperature greatly affect a felling of being too warm or too cold. For this reason, assumptions or rough approximations of critical factors in an indoor total heating system design must be minimized.

In electric infrared heating systems, it is important to know that air temperature can be lower than temperatures with conventional heating systems, while giving the same degree of comfort to the occupants. The reason is that much of the heating affect on the occupants comes directly from the radiant energy produced by the heating elements. The infrared system also makes the temperature of the floor and surfaces higher than the surrounding air temperature.

The function of an electric infrared 'Total Area' heating system is to supply the right amount of heat where needed to maintain a constant desired comfort level. An effective heating system brings the room surfaces and air up to temperature and holds them constant despite changes in outside air temperature or variations in heat losses. If the infrared equipment is carefully selected and properly installed (to project heat downward in a uniform distribution pattern over the floor area), excellent 'Total Area' heating efficiency can be expected.

Fostoria is a designer and manufacturer of infrared curing ovens, Sun Mite infrared comfort heating and LocalLite industrial task lighting equipment since 1917.

Areas of Specialization:
PROCESS HEATING: Engineers and manufacturers infrared ovens: powder and liquid coating, thermoforming plastics, bonding and pre-heating. Wide range of systems from coatings to computer chips.

COMFORT HEATING/IR: Industrial and commercial electric heating systems including: infrared, convection and hazardous location heaters. Free system engineering. 

SNOW & ICE CONTROL: Electric infrared snow and ice melting systems for pedestrian entryways and vehicle entrance, delivery, and parking ramps. 

INFRARED HEATING ELEMENTS: Manufacturer and distributor of all types of electric infrared heating elements for ovens and comfort heaters. Custom sizes. Application Engineering. Computerized usage tracking.

MACHINE TOOL LIGHTS: Industrial task lighting for: CNC Machining Centers, lathes, screw machines, presses, grinders, printing presses and assembly. OEM applications.

DOCK LIGHTS: Industrial dock lighting, material handling lights, dock fans. Choose from incandescent, HPS, quartz halogen or metal halide light sources. Advanced occupancy sensor controls.

METAL FABRICATION: Sheet metal punching, sheering, forming, finishing and fabrication of steel, aluminum & stainless steel components and finished electrical enclosures. Steel and aluminum spinnings.