What does ΔT, Delta T, and DT mean and why are some 50oC and others 60oC when it comes to radiators?

Hello, we thought we'd tackle a slightly thorny issue with radiators today. Heat outputs. 

Despite there being the European directive EN442, there remains plenty of confusing information regarding how radiators perform and how much heat a radiator is truly providing. This post is simply a layman's overview of how radiators are measured and calculated for output.

The first thing we need to understand is that two exact same radiators can offer different heat outputs depending on the system they are operating on. The reason is that heating systems can be set at different temperatures. So how do we know if a radiator is giving enough output at the temperature our boiler runs at?

EN442 came out in the late 90s with the plan of standardising radiator performance across Europe. The method is simple. We take a radiator and put it on a heating system operating at 75oC. The water then leaves the radiator at 65oC with us looking at achieve an ambient (room) temperature of 20oC. this is referred to as  75/65/20 - Delta T 50oC or ΔT 50oC or DT 50oC. This is the standard required by the EU.

Sadly, it doesn't end there. Because boilers can be adjusted to run hotter and the fact that older boilers run at an optimum of 90oC (Delta T 60oC) we then have an issue that your radiators can in fact offer more output than this benchmark of 75oC. This has created a loophole for the industry and very misleading issue for consumers who don't know what they're supposed to be looking at.

There are many manufacturers and retailers offering outputs at  Delta T 60 and in some cases, where our suppliers have provided published outputs, we've used the 90oc calculation, (although we are trying to wean ourselves off this, ha!). It is very tricky as its very difficult to inform the end user (this is the entire point of this post) about this issue. We've had customers call us asking why we offer the exact same radiator as a competitor, but ours offer less heat. Ultimately, Delta T 50oC should be the figure you're looking for. If you need to work out the true calculation from Delta T60, you divide by 1.264.

If you want to read more on the science of this, please see our page here.

https://www.radiatorshowroom.com/correction_factors_.html

It's All Over Now....

Sorry. Another song title, although I am talking about summer again. In truth, it probably isn't all over. We'll hopefully have a short seasonal blip at some point in September where people will be rushing to the sheds to pick up half price barbecues and garden furniture at get a few days use before the weather goes downhill and the lighting and heating go on.

Here at Radiator Showroom, this is a strange time of year. We've had a great summer with plenty of people boxing clever and having lovely new radiators fitted when they aren't using their heating system and when plumbers are on their slower period before what we call the "heating season" starts. This is when people switch on their central heating to find their boiler or pump has a problem. Plumbers are flat out during this time and often have long lead times to attend jobs.

This post is really a continuation of our last post. Now is a great time to take a look at your heating system by firing it up and testing it before the that time comes around and you need to switch it on for the first time to discover a problem. It really is worth flashing it on and making sure it works OK. If you need an installer and are based in the Portsmouth area. We have some details for some highly qualified Gas Safe accredited installers and we're happy to pass their details over.  

Feel free to give us a call on 023 9269 6622

Summer's Here And The Time Is Right.....

For radiators (OK, and dancing in the street too). Happy Summer everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying the weather. Some love it, whilst for others, like my mum, it can get a little much. My take is that I'm never going to moan as its always gone way too fast in our often shady Isle.

Of course, I'm not here to discuss the weather, I want to point out as I have in the title of this post, the time is right. To think about installing new radiators. Traditionally in our game, we get busy between September through to November, depending on whether we have a late summer and people buy half price garden furniture from the sheds in September. Either way, things slow up in December as most generally defer building work until the new year if they haven't started in November.

So we have this small window that everyone wants to cram new radiators installations into. The problems we face are as follows:

Available plumbers: This window is a time when people switch on their heating for the first time to find their boiler has broken down, or a pump has failed. Installers refer to these as distress calls. Plumbers are usually good chaps who have a regular base of clients and will prioritise their workload according to need. We refer installers to our clients often, but during this time, we hand out cards with the caveat that they shouldn't expect a call immediately or that the work can be carried out quickly. Odds are, they'll have a backlog at this time of year. Their workloads are considerably lower in the summer, which mean a quicker response to your call and hopefully a site visit within the week.

Available radiators: Many of our overseas manufacturers close for August, so its imperative that stock orders are placed to arrive in the warehouse before the end of July as there are no shipments in August and we need to have radiators ready to ship early September if required. We are in fact heavily stocked up in July in anticipation of this.

So Summer really is the right time for choose and have your radiators installed. Just a suggestion. If you'd like to give us a call, please feel free on 023 9269 6622 or email Enquiries@RadiatorShowroom.com. Alternatively give one of our sites a visit.

www.RadiatorShowroom.com
www.Rads-Direct.co.uk