The first option I would consider is to demo the existing heater and put new cable up. It is not that hard but I always recommend that a qualified electrician do the work. After the electrician does his thing then you have to get plasterer to do his thing. Some manufacturers say that you can sandwich the heater between two layers of drywall,,, I don't like that idea. The biggest problem with this first option is the cost.
Option number two would be to use radiant ceiling panels. These heaters are much more intense than a radiant ceiling cable embedded in the ceiling. The watts per square foot can go up to 94 and even higher with some other manufacturers. The ones I like are divisions of Marley Engineered Products (http://www.marleymeh.com/) Berko, and QMark. They produce a product once known as Aztec. In my opinion it is the highest quality radiant panel in the market. A 2' x 4' radiant panel comes in low (500watts), medium (625watts) and high (750watts) densities. They have a surface mounting kit or a recess mounting kit for drywall applications. These should typically be mounted at an outside wall with particular concentration above glass. My recommended minimum mounting height is 8 feet. You should realize though that these can be opressive if you spend anytime right underneath one of these heaters. I would be hesitant to use these hap-hazardly in a residential application.
The other radiant heater that may be an excellant idea as a replacement for your existing system is called a cove heater. Marley makes those also, but I prefer the unit manufactured by King (http://www.king-electric.com/)out of Seattle.
Things you should do before you proceed with any of these options is get an amp reading from your existing heater. Document that along with the voltage that is powering your heater. Get a heat loss done for the space that the heater will be heating. If you help with that email me and I will assist.
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