Technical Information

AHRI Standard 1330

Do you have questions about the Radiant Efficiency Standard 1330? Look to the leaders in infrared heating for answers.

Radiant efficiency has been a buzzword in the infrared industry for many years, but determining how to properly measure this metric has been the subject of much debate. Following the lead of some early European testing, the first version of AHRI 1330 was published in 2015. In this version, radiant efficiency is defined using an Infrared Factor (IF) between 7 and 15. However, shortly after this standard was published, it was determined the test equipment mandated by 1330 and the European standards was faulty, leading to large testing discrepancies and margins of error, making any published IF numbers unreliable at best. The ELVHIS letter and AHRI Information Statement below provide more information on these issues. The AHRI 1330 standard was withdrawn in 2022 in anticipation of the release of a new version in the first half of 2024.

ELVHIS, a leading association of radiant gas manufacturers in Europe, spent a great deal of time and resources to determine the best way to fix the errors in the published standards. The test equipment was redesigned and manufactured in a small batch of 20 to exact specifications, guaranteeing that any manufacturer testing with one of these 20 pieces would have accurate, repeatable, and comparable results. This resulted in revisions to AHRI 1330, which changed IF to Radiant Emission Value (REV). REV is calculated as a percentage from a formula, and has a wider spread than IF (typically between 80% and 110%). This means more precise, comparable numbers.

The updates to AHRI 1330 were submitted in 2018, and the newer version of AHRI 1330-2024 (pending publication) is what the industry is currently testing to.