What Are The Benefits of Columned Radiators?

Column radiators are the oldest style of radiator. You might know them as tubular radiators, or as cast-iron radiators – although this latter term is not strictly accurate, given that cast-iron radiators are simply radiators made from cast iron.

The Perfect Temperature

The latest generation of radiator valves are now as important as the radiator itself in being part of the complete aesthetic attraction.

Modern radiators whether for the bathroom or bedroom come in all shapes, sizes and colour. They are also available in a number of metals and metal finish. For example; it’s not just a steel radiator but polished steel or brushed steel in the online catalogue.

Even that metal can be delivered painted in any colour you like within the full RAL range.
In the bathroom most people prefer polished steel or chrome finish. Both are ideal for this environment where hot and cold as well as water spray or steam are elements that are unable to corrode in any way these alloys.

It stands to reason then that the valves in the bathroom should also be a steel or chrome finish to equally stand up to these elements as well as look the part.

These days with such attractive radiator and towel radiator valves available, most new installations try to keep pipes hidden. Years ago newly fitted central heating systems would reveal yards of exposed copper pipe running along skirting boards.

Just one of the problems with that arrangement was keeping it all dust free and generally clean and tidy. When the time came to decorate a room the copper pipes never looked comfortable covered in a matt paint and as for painting with oil it was impossible or very tedious trying to cover it all.

Additionally, if you look at the superb styling of radiators available these days and the way they can look like pieces of art it seems a crying shame not to compliment them with the right matching valve and then making sure there are no pipes in view.

Towel radiators in the UK are not just for the winter months. Summer is short enough and in any case there are few times in the year when you do not want to be stepping out of the bath or shower and grabbing a dry and warm fluffy towel.

A Useful Heater For Anywhere In The Home

You can argue that electric towel radiators are probably more expensive to run than the ones that run off your central heating system.  However with energy prices having come down this may not be true.

The advantage of having these fitted is that you will not have bundles of wet towels lying around at any time of the year.  They work every day of the year, unlike the ones mentioned above as your heating will be switched off in the summer months.

Another real bonus is that they are easily fitted as there is no extensive pipework involved and therefore no floorboards have to be lifted.  I would suggest that if you don’t know much about electricity it will be safer to have them installed by a professional.  This way you will also have a warranty if something goes wrong with them.

Electric towel heaters have an element sealed within the framework and they do not need water to get them hot.  Very little can go wrong with them and most have timers fitted to them so you can let them come on when you need heat.

You know that bathrooms are damp places and having some form of heating installed in your room will keep mould and fungi from forming.

If you should go for the ultra-stylish chrome models you need to ensure that they stay dry to stop marks from appearing on them.  This can easily be done by wiping a soft cloth over them to keep them in pristine condition.

Of course, these heaters are not only useful in your bathroom.  Because of their compact size they do not take up a large amount of room and they can be fitted in kitchens, cloakrooms and hallways too.

Modern homes do tend to have a lack of space to walk around and because these radiators sit close to the wall and because they are often vertical, they do not take up much wall space.  In a hallway you will be able to get your raincoats, scarves and hats dry.

To peruse the very useful electric towel radiators please log on to designerradiatorsdirect

Start Saving Energy With These Valves

Thermostatic radiator valves are fitted on all modern systems and they regulate the heat input in any given room.  Our grandparents did not have this luxury and their heaters were either on or off.

If you want to change the valves on your old system, you need to know that they are often referred to as TRVs.  These valves sense the temperature within their mechanism and they will shut themselves off when the radiator has reached to required temperature.

It is very important to change your heater valves if they are past their best.  You will be able to save on your utility bills as your radiators are not blazing hot 24/7 and you will also reduce the carbon footprint that your home makes where archaic valves are involved.

Whereas the early TRVs had a wax plug within the housing which expanded and contracted during temperature changes, the modern ones regulate temperature by means of electronics. Although these are perhaps not widely used yet, they will allow you to programme individual radiators to come on when you want.

If you should have a room thermostat in one of your rooms to service the whole house, you need to know that in that particular area you should not have a thermostatic valve fitted to your heater.  Your thermostat and this valve will work against each other and you should just have the ordinary valve on open all the time.

Another point to make in favour of TRVs is that if you have a sunny room, your radiator will not click on as much as a room facing north.  The sun itself will heat up the room with a little help from your heater in the winter and you will save energy. In rooms that you use only rarely you can switch off the radiator and make further savings.

When buying valves, you must ensure that they are the right size for the pipework that is already in your home.  All these points you can discuss with your plumber on line as there is always advice on hand even if you are not physically in a shop.

To peruse the different types of thermostatic radiator valves  please see us at Designer Radiators 

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What Are The Advantages of Electric Radiators?

If you ask most people, they’ll tell you that central heating radiators are better than electric radiators UK. However, this doesn’t mean that there are no advantages in having electric radiators UK. There are advantages with some of the features that you have with electric radiators in comparison to central heating radiators. We’re going to consider these key advantages below.

On Demand Heating

One of the biggest advantages of electric heaters is that they provide on demand electricity. This is relevant in two different ways:

1.       It means that you can turn on a single unit at a time. With central heating radiators, if you want heat in one particular room, then you have to turn on the entire central heating system, then go around turning off all of the other radiators, or heat up more than one room at a time.

2.       It means that the radiator heats up quickly. Electric heaters are hot almost straightaway (but it can depend on the type, fluid filled electric heaters take slightly longer than storage heaters). You just switch it on and you get heat.

Night Rate

Traditionally, electric heaters are considered more expensive than gas central heating radiators. However, gas and electricity prices are becoming closer matched, and with the advent of solar energy, it’s likely that electricity becomes cheaper than gas, this means that it’s often cheaper to run electric radiators. This is especially the case with night storage heaters that command a special night rate – about 4p per KWh of electricity, which is a third of the price of a typical day rate.

Safety Features

Electric heaters are safer than non-electric heaters. This may sound odd, because in real terms, gas radiators are safest. However, the electric radiators under go much more vigorous testing than the gas radiators (the gas boiler is strongly tested, but the radiators aren’t). Because electric radiators represent a greater risk, they have to conform to higher standards, and in the end, this makes them safer. For instance, they're much less likely to leak.

If you would like to browse a collection of electric radiators UK, then please visit designerradiatorsdirect

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What Dictates the Efficiency of a Radiator?

If you’re buying a radiator, then you will probably want to know how efficient the item will be. Its efficiency will determine the cost of your heating bills, and with exceptionally high rates of electricity and gas, most of us need to be careful with our energy use. When buying radiator, we need to know how much they’ll cost to run. We can determine this by considering several different factors: surface area, content volume and type, design, material and finish. We’ll consider each below.

Surface Area

The larger the surface area, the more heat it can output. However, if the surface area is too wide, long and high, it can lead to rapid heat loss, which clearly is inefficient. The most efficient radiators will compact as large a surface area into the unit as they can, without affecting the dimension of the unit. This may sound a bit complicated, but an example that you can probably relate to is that of cast iron radiators. Here, the radiators have columns, each column having six faces providing more surface area than vertical radiators of the same size (one there are two columns). For example, if you take a 50cm x 50cm flat panel radiator and a cast iron radiator of the same dimension, but made of two columns, the cast iron radiator actually has a larger surface area.

Volume

The next issue is that of content and volume. Generally, the less water a radiator contains, the faster it will heat up and the less money is spent getting it to temperature. However, the difference is marginal, and differences in heating cost would only become apparent over long periods. Across an entire system, it may become relevant. There’s also the issue that if it takes less time to heat up, it also takes less time to cool down too.

Shape and Design

The shape and design of a radiator has some effect on efficiency. Horizontal radiators are more efficient than vertical radiators. This is because hot air rises, so the vertical radiators will lose heat from the room at a faster rate. However, if they’re downstairs radiators, that tends to be ok, because it just means the upstairs rooms, are warmer.

If you would like to browse a collection of radiators, including vertical radiators, please visit designerradiatorsdirect 

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