• There are three time periods during a heat treatment
Heating up
For most insects the optimum developing and reproduction temperature is between +15°C and +35°C. At temperatures above approximately +45°C the pests, including their eggs and larvae, are killed within a few hours. This is because they cannot reduce their body temperature by perspiring and their body protein and enzymes coagulate.
The heating of all air in the building up to 50 – 60°C is achieved slowly. This way the building and the installations are not damaged by the heat. In bigger rooms at least 2 ThermoNox® heaters are necessary to produce a homogenous and economical air circulation. A repositioning of the equipment secures an optimal air distribution.
Holding the temperature
The necessary temperature of 50 – 60°C is held over 8 – 18 hours to reach an adequate influence of temperature inside machines and inaccessible spaces.
The temperature can be controlled easily with an infrared control gun. The positions and blowing directions are modified accordingly. By doing this, a disadvantageous (in terms of heat treatment) room geometry as well as shieldings by fixtures and installations, can be compensated.
Cooling
The ThermoNox® heaters are turned off and the air, the installations and the building reach their normal temperature again so slowly that no heat tension damage is caused.
Duration:
The heat treatment of a single room, for example a hotel room (one heater with 9 kW is enough), requires approximately 24 hours, whereas a whole building with several floors needs to be treated for at least 48 hours.
Energy consumption:
The energy consumption of course is influenced by the number of machine
s in the area to be treated and the building composition eg. concrete/steel/wood which have different absorption characteristics. The energy consumption of an entire heat treatment is about 2 – 4 kWh per m³ space.
Special case: partial treatments
If it is not possible or necessary to heat up a complete building, there are two different options for partial treatments.
1. If the machines that need to be treated are not fixed permanently, they can be transported into a smaller room and heated up there.
2. The other possibility is that the room is separated by polythene foils. Then only one part needs to be heated.