Parabolic heaters, each consisting of a radiant heat source with a parabolic reflector, are used in engineering fields. Although a parabolic heater theoretically heats a target area at the same temperature, temperature distribution is made on the target area in engineered conditions. However, experimental and numerical analyses of parabolic heaters have not been properly conducted. In this work, three types of parabolic heaters with different entrance widths were made and used in the heating experiment. The results of the experiment shows that the temperature distribution is affected by the entrance width of the parabolic reflector. In order to simulate the performance of the parabolic heaters, a numerical model for the simulation of the parabolic reflectors was proposed. The results of finite element simulation using the proposed model were compared with the experimental results. The comparison has validated the usefulness of the numerical model. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.