Quartz heating is a type of radiant heating, commonly referred to as short wave infrared heating. Radiant heating uses infrared waves to directly heat the surfaces of objects. All objects emit and absorb infrared heat, which is part of the electromagnetic spectrum with a frequency below visible light. Hotter objects will radiate more of this heat. This is the basis of the technology for most quartz heaters. Quartz Heater or Infrared heaters provide gentle heating to skin and comforts you from freezing cold.