How much heat do I need for my room?

How much heat do I need for my room?  (part one...)

 

OK, today I want to talk about heat output requirements. This is the one area that causes the most confusion and frustration to end users when selecting radiators. The main problem is that Joe Public ordinarily doesn't have much need to understand how their heating works or what their radiators do for them. 

Simply put, radiators on a central heating system are designed for the occupants of the house to avoid the feeling of cold. They're not designed to radiate heat in a blast like an open fire or wood burner. They just tick away, raising the overall temperature of a room in most cases, when specified correctly, to an ambient temperature of 20ºC or more. 

With this in mind, when we look at heat calculations, we have a number of resources available to us to choose the correct output radiator. Firstly, there are a huge selection of output calculators online. We have one on our site here.

The problem with using output calculators is that it is simply maths. X+Y=Z. There isn't any interaction with how the room actually feels heat wise, the aspect of the room or how the occupant uses the room or what the occupant prefers, temperature wise. We actually removed our calculator from the menu section of our Radiator Showroom website as people thought the figures it supplied had to be adhered to like the Ten Commandments or something. Whilst we need to remain within a reasonable tolerance, of course, there is some waggle room. 

The second consideration is design. If you're here, odds are you're looking for designer radiators, contemporary radiators or traditional radiators. In other words, you're looking for something nice and attractive. When people focus in the radiator output, they can get carried away with Watts or BTU (British Thermal Unit) outputs and select huge radiators that look entirely inappropriate. In most cases, radiators are available in a number of sizes and where large output are needed, often its a good idea to split things up with two or more radiators. Most people are surprised to learn that costs for two radiators is usually very similar to one unit at double the size.   

To Be Continued..............

How to Choose a Traditional Radiator for your home

Though they’re perhaps not the first design features that you think of when redecorating your home, your radiators can have a huge impact on the overall success of your finished design, and can make or break your home’s new look.

Occasionally, you’ll spot a radiator that you love so much you build your entire interior design scheme around it, however, more often than not, choosing your radiators will be an natural part of completing your design and a great finishing touch in your home.

So if you’re struggling to choose just one of our fantastic radiator designs, here are some things to think about to help you narrow it down.

Size

The very first thing to do before choosing a radiator is to work out exactly how much space you’ve got to install it in.

If it’s going on a long, straight wall this won’t be too much of an issue, however if you want your radiator installed under a window, in an alcove or within a pre-existing radiator cover, you need to know that it’s going to fit.

When calculating the size of the radiator that you require, remember to take its width as well as its height into consideration or you may be left disappointed.

 

Location

The destination of the radiator in your home will also have a big impact on the style that you choose.

For example, if the radiator will be mostly out of a sight, a simpler design would probably do, however if the radiator is going to be in a prominent position then its design is going to be a lot more important.

Period design

Our radiators are specially designed to cover a range of periods, so no matter what style you’ve chosen for your home, there should be a radiator to suit it.

From the elaborately decorated to the all of our radiators have a huge amount of decorative appeal and can contribute a lot to any interior.

All of our more intricate radiator designs would look fantastic installed in a home with existing period features, complimenting things like wooden floors, fireplaces and cornicing perfectly.

Contemporary design

If you’ve gone for a more contemporary look for your home, we’re guaranteed to still have the perfect radiator for your needs.

Anything from the strong, clean lines to the modern rounded edges would look great in any home, giving a great designer touch to your central heating.