Radiators: How to Choose the Right One for Your Home

Winter is here, and if the predictions are anything to go by, it’s going to be the coldest winter that we’ve experienced in a long time, with snow, hail, and biting winds. It is important, then, that we keep our homes warm, and a key component of this is our radiator system. When choosing new radiators, there are a few things to consider, which we will explain below.

Gas/Electric/Storage/Standalone Radiators

If you have gas, then you will usually have a central heating system. Here, you will need to select radiators that suit that system, which are different to those that suit an electric central heating system. However, both types of system work using similar mechanisms: there is a boiler, which feeds water through a system of pipes and radiators. The only difference is the way the boiler is heated: either gas or electric.

Next, you have storage heaters. Economy 7 are the most common type of storage heater. These standalone units are attached to the wall and connected to your homes electrics.

Finally, you have standalone radiators that you manually plug into the wall.

If you have central heating, then you will need a radiator for central heating – although you can change to one of the following types of radiator. If you have storage heaters, then you will need to replace these with storage heaters*. And, if you have no radiators, then the plug in radiators are best*.

*unless you want to change the entire system, but this is incredibly expensive.

Heat Output

Your next consideration is your requirements of heat. Smaller rooms will need radiators that emit less heat, whereas larger rooms will require radiators that emit more heat. In general, the larger the radiator the more heat it emits.

In order to establish how much heat output you need, and which radiator size of radiator is most suitable, you can use a ‘Radiator Calculator’. You can find these calculators online.

Energy Efficiency

Next, you need to establish the energy efficiency of different types of radiator. The higher the efficiency, the less you will pay in energy costs (i.e. gas and electric). Clearly, with the ‘big 6’ energy companies putting up their prices year on year, energy saving appliances are extremely important to the majority of people in the UK. Before you buy a radiator make sure that you find out its ‘efficiency rating’. You may find that you have to pay more money for a more efficient radiator, but in the long run, it will cost you less money.

Decorative Effects

Today’s radiators can be highly decorative.Vogue radiators, for example, sell a fantastic range of multifunctional radiators. These radiators offer dual functions. For example, within the Vogue radiators range you can find shelved radiators that are meant for use in the bathroom. These are radiators where you can store your towels to keep them warm and cosy – even your clean towels can be stored in the bathroom without worrying about common problems such as mould.

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