Which Radiator?

By Author: Daniel Higgins
Total Articles: 9
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Radiators are actually somewhat mis-titled. The majority o the heat that comes from your radiator system is delivered via convection rather than radiating straight out into the room. Your radiators work by passing hot water through the system, and as any cool air circulates past the system, it is heated and distributed round your room via convection currents.

For this reason radiators require a good amount of space with which to attract, heat and circulate air. This is why the positioning of radiators is so important, and why you will always see radiators mounted away from the wall and above floor level.

1. A fairly recent addition to radiator design is the fin. These were introduced to provide further surface area through which your radiator can radiate heat. These are the fin-shaped metal parts that you will most likely find to the back of your radiator panel. Thanks to fins, nowadays far smaller radiators can be used to provide a large amount of heat.

2. The type and size of radiator that you will require depends mainly on the kind of temperature that you wish to obtain in each of your rooms. Smaller ...
... radiators can be fitted in rooms that require a lower constant temperature, while you may prefer a more powerful radiator for your bathroom for example.

3.Each of your rooms will also have a certain level of heat loss. The higher the heat loss the more powerful the radiator you will need to opt for. Heat loss can be determined by the presence of windows and doors in each room, the size and insulation properties of these windows and doors, and by the general materials that have been used in the construction of your home.

4. Online heat calculators are available to help you determine the size of radiator you require, but it is recommended that you consult a local heating engineer just to be sure that the radiator you choose is the most suitable.

5. Replacing an existing radiator is more straightforward. Here you just need to purchase a radiator that matches the heat output level of your existing system. Of course, this is providing that your existing radiator was delivering enough heat for your needs.

The design of the radiator that you chose is completely up to you, and there is a far larger selection of designs available these days. If you are buying an older model, the type often found in reclamation outlets, inspect it thoroughly as one in ten of these older radiators can have cracks that make the unsuitable for use.

Visit British Gas to discover a great range of radiators. Discover how much you could save with our competitive energy prices too.