Cage Heating (Radiant Panel vs Belly Heat)

[norwegn113]

i tried something new with my new enclosure , I put the probe close to the top on the cold side opposite where the rhp is ..... before i installed the rhp my tank stayed at room temp ( 70-72 ) after installation I achieved 82 ambient temps with the panel set at 82 and the hottest spot under the panel is 91 ....all i know rhps make it easy for me....

This is very similar to the wat I have my probe set up and I am getting close to the same results. I am not concerned if the surface of my panel reaches 190 as it is mounted to the ceiling of my cage and there is no possible way my snake can lay on them. Worst possible situation is that they brush against them and that temp is not hot enough to cause burns for brief encounters. My cages are made of 3/4" plywood and hold temps incredibly well. ( maybe the wood has something to do with why we are getting good results? Or maybe its the probe positions?) Who knows? As for kitedemon, I WILL NOT ARGUE WITH YOU about UTH being more efficient, because you are right it is but you can get satisfactory results from RHPs. One thing to keep in mind as well, once all objects acclimate to the desired temps my panels do not run at full 80 watts. They are proportioned down by my herpstat to run just enough to maintain my dedired temps. Works like a dream!!!!! One thing I wil say to those who run tests with rhp is that it takes almost 48 hours for the environment to stabilize before you will get accurate results. Rhp will raise ambiant air temps BUT not directly, indirectly by heating objects, substrates, etc. But that reaction takes time. The best part about that is the fast recovery time my air temps have if I open the csge doors. If the hot air escapes the objects retain their temps giving me fast recory times and therefore a more stable environment than let say a light or something that only heats the air. UTH will do the same for they run on the same comcept of rhp, they heat objects. In theory radiant heat is radiant heat and yes it is a nice benefit that they are cheaper in cost butmy snakes do not lay on my panels so if worst case my thermostat were to totally fail my snakes would have no chance at getting burned. ( they would sense a change in airtemps and retreat to the cold side where they would be safe) but as hot rocks have shown us all, snakes will not leave a surface that over heats rather they will stay there and get burned. Why that is I dont have any idea but its the facts. THAT is why I choose to have an overhead source of heat rather than a surface heater. It has nothing to do with efficiency.