Why infrared heating film is used to temper billiard tables?

In addition to tempered balls, heated tables are also used in professional billiards. Heating the cloth and the balls to 25-30°C (depending on the cloth) has the advantage that the cloth stretches perfectly and evenly and the balls roll incredibly easily on impact. Only by heating the cloth is it possible to play professional billiards.

In the past, the granite boards covered with the billiard cloth (weighing approx. 800-900 kg for match billiards, depending on their thickness) were usually heated with heating wires/heating cables laid in coils and attached to a wooden board. 

With this outdated variant, a cavity is required under the stone slabs to be heated. The air in this cavity must therefore first be heated so that the stone slab is then heated in turn. As this system is also not airtight at the bottom, some of the heat generated is lost again directly, making the system very inefficient and causing high heating costs.

As approx. 95% of the "old" billiard tables used throughout Europe are still in use, the search for a modern heating solution or a corresponding retrofit option quickly leads to the modern infrared heating films.

In addition to the affordable purchase price of the heating films, the material thickness of less than 1 mm, the good and robust quality and the almost full-surface heating area compared to the heating cable, the heating films are also predestined for this application due to their high efficiency and therefore low energy consumption.

The heating film is laid directly on a hard fibre board and fixed in place with adhesive strips. The temperature sensor required to control/monitor the film temperature using a thermostat can simply be installed directly in the panel. The hard fibre board with the film is placed on the frame of the table, onto which the stone slab is then placed directly. The heating film thus lies directly on the stone slab without a cavity and the heat generated cannot escape downwards through the hard fibre board.

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Andreas Hofer: The system has not only proved its worth for us, but also for another club we are friends with, who gave us the tip to use the infrared heating film. Numerous championships have already been held on their tables equipped with infrared heating film. This table heating system saves our billiard club in Bruck an der Leitha immense heating costs.

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Lukas Z.: I installed the infrared film on my snooker table as a table heater. Fitted directly under the slates and insulated at the bottom with an XPS insulation board. Works great! I can only recommend it!