How to Keep Your Hallway Nice and Warm – Without Spending Too Much Money

Hallways are relatively annoying to keep warm. This is because they’re big. They might feel small and narrow, but the average hallway in the UK is 55m². The reason they're so big, yet feel small, is because they usually have a high ceiling, covering both the upstairs and downstairs of the house, and they often run the full length of the house, or at least from the front room to the back room.

Given their size, they’re difficult to keep warm. In general, the bigger the space, the more energy you need to use to heat it. Clearly, this can become very expensive if all you're doing is relying on the radiators to keep things warm. 

Instead, it’s better to make as many adjustments to the hallway as you can, to help increase the amount of heat that it naturally retains. Here are a few things that you can do that will really help the space:

  

1. Carpets are much better than wooden floors or tiles at keeping the heat in the room (unless you have underfloor carpets). You can carpet the hallway for relatively little, as the footprint of the space is relatively small – it’s the height that tends to make it big, not the width.

If you can’t afford a new carpet, don’t worry, you can buy rugs instead. IKEA sell metre length rugs for as little as £2.99, so we’re certain that you'll be able to find cheap rugs that will help as insulation.

2. Consider changing the radiator to a more efficient and higher heat output model. You can buy radiators online for as little as £50 and they will make a big difference to the space, and help to keep bills somewhat low.

3. Use draft excluders to eliminate any cold air that can get in around the windows and the doors. You might even consider hanging a curtain in front of the door as it adds an extra level of insulation.

4. Make sure that you have sufficient insulation in the loft and if you have cavity walls, in the walls. You would be surprised by how much of the heat in the hallway can escape through the roof when the roof is poorly ventilated.

We hope that you have found this article useful. All of these tips will help to keep your house warm while minimising the amount of money you spend on your energy bills.

Does Covering the Radiator Reduce the Heat?

There are arguments for and not for boxing in a radiator. Whilst we can all agree that draping a towel over the bathroom radiator is a bad idea, boxing it in is another matter.

It’s also clearly a bad idea to have a wall mounted radiator beneath a window with curtains overlapping. This just results in heat loss through the glass.

One improvement we can all make is to ensure there is some reflective material on the wall immediately behind all radiators. This is particularly true if it’s an outside wall.

There are a number of proprietary products for this and the best resemble aluminum bubble wrap. Apart from preventing much of the radiator heat from simply heating the wall, it also helps radiate warmth back into the room.

The object of any kind of boxing is to delay the immediate rise of heat towards the ceiling and to try and radiate it into the room as much as possible.

Although we call it a radiator it is in fact more like a convector. This is because of the basic fact that all warm air rises.

To calculate how big a radiator is needed in a room is a fairly simple operation. Most sellers of central heating equipment will have a BTU Calculator on their website.

A BTU is otherwise known as a British thermal unit and this is calculated by feeding the dimensions of the room into a set formula. Other details are also required like the size and type of windows in the room.

The type of outside brick or stone is also taken into account along with details about the floor and ceiling.

It’s important to get the correct radiator output so that it’s not blasting away all day struggling to heat the room. And equally, a radiator with too much heat output is an unnecessary extra expense.

There is a strong argument that the latest new radiators are best left uncovered as their skin is thin enough to radiate more than older conventional ones.

But there is one other argument to cover radiators and that’s when there are young children around the house.

For a BTU calculator http://www.designerradiatorsdirect.co.uk/

The Four Most Important Things to Remember When Buying New Radiators

It’s important that you do your research before you buy your new radiators. If you buy the wrong radiators, then it can lead to problems. For example, if the radiator doesn’t produce enough heat for the space, then you will simply waste energy trying to heat a room that will never heat up. When buying new radiators, there are four important things to remember. We are going to explore these below.

1. Sizing

All things being equal (e.g. the radiator has the same number of panels, convector fins, and valve types), the size of the radiator determines how much heat it will produce. In general, the larger the room, the larger the radiator will need to be.

You can use on online BTU calculator to work out how much energy the radiator requires, and then choose a radiator that corresponds. You will find, as we said, that the more BTUs a radiator can put out per hour, the larger it will be.

2. Materials

There is some argument concerning the most efficient material from which to make radiators, but most people agree that cast iron and stainless steel work the best of timed central heating systems, while aluminium is best for central heating systems that require quick responsiveness.

3. Orientation

You might find that when you choose the radiator according to BTU/size, that you cannot find a suitably sized horizontal radiator for the room. It could be that you have a relatively large room, but barely any wall space. In this case, you should think about buying tall radiators, rather than horizontal ones.

Also, if you have French doors, it also makes more sense to have tall radiators on either side, rather than one radiator on an adjoining or opposite wall. This is because it’s more efficient to heat cold air as it comes into the room and the reason why experts recommend that you hang your radiators below the window where possible.

4. Style

Finally, once you have established your requirements in terms of the first three conditions, you can then go on to think about style. There are hundreds, even thousands, of different styles of radiator, so you are spoiled for choice!

Are you interested in buying new radiators? If so, please visit DRD

Are Branded Radiators Worth the Extra Money?

We’re guessing that if you're reading this article, it’s because you want to buy some new radiators buy you're quite unsure about which radiator/s to buy. You will have noticed that, as with most retail items, there are premium branded radiators and then there are generic radiators. Today, we are going to discuss whether the branded radiators are worth the extra cost.

OK, so firstly, it’s important that you understand that the generic radiators are very good value for money. Radiators are a pretty solid buy and it’s rare to find low quality radiators. This means that in terms of functionality (i.e. do they keep you warm), there’s not much difference between generic and designer/branded radiators. If they have the same features, then they will generally have a similar performance. For example, 3-panel generic radiators would be as good as a 3-panel Reina radiators.

That isn't the end of the story, because yes, they might perform pretty much to the same level, there are a few things that will set the designer/branded radiators apart. Here are a few things to consider:

1.       The length of the warrantee/guarantee will generally be longer with the branded radiators. This is because they want to keep their customers happy for longer, or risk it affecting their reputation. When you buy generic radiators and they become damaged after 3 or 4 years, the owner isn’t going to be able to easily badmouth them because they aren't well known so it won’t stick in other people’s minds. However, with a brand such as Reina radiators, it would affect their reputation, and consequently sales. They don’t want this, so they offer a higher level of service.

2.       The look of the radiator is generally better with designer radiators. Again, they need to set themselves apart, and they do this by creating beautiful and/or unique looking radiators. If you have a look though the big brand catalogue, you'll notice that they all have radiators that could easily double as modern art. It’s great.

3.       You know what you're getting when you buy a branded unit. With generic radiators, it won’t be very easy for you to research the company to see how well they perform. You'll find it difficult to find reviews and to find people with experience of that particular radiator. With the branded radiators, you can find a lot of information and so be well prepared with what to expect should you choose to buy one.

So, generic radiators are as good as branded radiators. If cash and functionality are your main concern, then choose a generic brand. However, if you want that little bit of edge, go for a designer/branded radiator.

If you would like to browse a fantastic collection of both types of radiator, please visit http://www.designerradiatorsdirect.co.uk