WARMROOM radiator energy saving

melbury

http://www.warmroom.co.uk/


Has anyone heard of these, or indeed tried them?

We are trying to save on heating bills and thought these sounded quite good, but in the video they only fit them to single radiators and we have mainly double ones.

Any feedback greatly appreciated:)

victor2

I had some spare "foil" backed underlay left over from installing laminate flooring. I just cut a piece of that to go round the radiator brackets (which held it in place) and then appplied a little adhesive to make it stick to the wall with the silver side facing the radiator. Cost me nothing. Did one upstairs room where the outside wall is in a dormer. Didn't notice any difference in warmth or heating bills! Still have some left and might do the other radiators if ever I get seriously bored. Managed to put it off for over a year now though.
I don't see how the ones you linked to will give any problems with double or single radiators, so long as there's a metal surface to stick to, which most radiators have.

FLAPJACK

Firstly the question is "Will it save money" i.e does the concept work?

Last year I was researching the subject with a view to installing heat reflective material behind the rads.

I found that even looking at the idea that heat MUST be getting lost to the wall, the consensus I came up with is that people are pretty split down the middle...from "A total waste of time" to "The best thing since sliced bread"

On the face of it as we all know heat rises, therefore insulating the loft WILL undoubtedly work...it's a no brainer not to insulate the loft.
However with rads we are expected to believe that the heat goes sideways into the wall not upwards!.

I suppose the heat issuing from the bottom of the rad could end up heating the wall on the way up...so it could happen.

It was this decision that slod me on giving it a go.

I went to B&Q and found rolls of radiator insulation which is foil backed with polystyrine....the depth of the roll is the same as a radiator so it only needs to be cut to length. It is applied to the wall by polystyrine adhesive.

At the moment this item can be picked up from B&Q for £5.25 a roll, 3 rolls did me for 7 radiators.
Since applying it I can honestly say that there does seem to be a difference in the heat output.

I have read elsewhere that this material can be improved by applying it 2 sheets thick to the wall.

Warmroom seems to be no difference in the way it works and is more expensive, I also cannot see where that reckon you need to remove the rads first! Every rad i've seen has always had a gap between it and the wall.

So it's probably a worthwhile projectbut only if the enitial outlay isn't too much.

Afterall I suppose a sheet of Baco foil on a sheet of cardboard glued to the wall would do the same job.

Merry Xmas.

Perry525

Radiators heat mainly by convection, then by radiation.

I have two inch thick sheets of polystyrene covered by polished aluminium reflectors behind my radiators, I made them to the same size as the radiator - and yes they do work. With the reflector pushing the heat back into the room. The polystyrene delays the heat from the radiators getting to the walls so more heat enters the room, until the polystyrene it self reaches the same temperature as the radiator.

I have compared records taken with an infra-red temperature gun in the winter before fitting and again after fitting and it has made a difference of between 2 and 3 degrees on the walls outside on days when the outside temperature was minus 5C.

We have brick outer, filled cavity, light weight block inner, mortar render and plaster skim coat finish.

melbury

FLAPJACK wrote: »

Firstly the question is "Will it save money" i.e does the concept work?

Last year I was researching the subject with a view to installing heat reflective material behind the rads.

I found that even looking at the idea that heat MUST be getting lost to the wall, the consensus I came up with is that people are pretty split down the middle...from "A total waste of time" to "The best thing since sliced bread"

On the face of it as we all know heat rises, therefore insulating the loft WILL undoubtedly work...it's a no brainer not to insulate the loft.
However with rads we are expected to believe that the heat goes sideways into the wall not upwards!.

I suppose the heat issuing from the bottom of the rad could end up heating the wall on the way up...so it could happen.

It was this decision that slod me on giving it a go.

I went to B&Q and found rolls of radiator insulation which is foil backed with polystyrine....the depth of the roll is the same as a radiator so it only needs to be cut to length. It is applied to the wall by polystyrine adhesive.

At the moment this item can be picked up from B&Q for £5.25 a roll, 3 rolls did me for 7 radiators.
Since applying it I can honestly say that there does seem to be a difference in the heat output.

I have read elsewhere that this material can be improved by applying it 2 sheets thick to the wall.

Warmroom seems to be no difference in the way it works and is more expensive, I also cannot see where that reckon you need to remove the rads first! Every rad i've seen has always had a gap between it and the wall.

So it's probably a worthwhile projectbut only if the enitial outlay isn't too much.

Afterall I suppose a sheet of Baco foil on a sheet of cardboard glued to the wall would do the same job.

Merry Xmas.

Thanks for the reply. No they don't say you need to remove the rads first, they say the panels just slide down and are then held in place magnetically.

I like the sound of the radiator insulation from B&Q, but to fit this it does sound like removing the rads would be a must, which is what I am trying to avoid:)

Perhaps I will just purchase one and see if it is any good. I agree about the cost though, it does seem a bit pricey.:(

FLAPJACK

Hi,

The B&Q material doesn't need the rads to be removed,(on the Warmroom site it says that this type of material DOES require rads to be removed, under FAQ section "Other Radiator Panels/Rolls".

My rads are about an inch from the wall, once you cut the length you need because it is backed by polystyrine it stays pretty flat.

Lay it flat on the floor (foil side down) then apply the adhesive, do this after offering up the material to the wall to make sure it will go down all the way behind the rad.

Once in place, run a small decorating roller (made for painting behind rads..which is a job you won't need to do again) over the material to ensure the adhesive spreads out against the wall.

Unless your rads are really really close to the wall B&Q product will be fine.


Have a good Christmas.

closed

Even if you take the technical document as fact, and have all radiators on outside walls.

"This gives an increase in useful heat output of 3%"

isn't going to reduce bills by much, it might have a placebo effect, but so would aluminium foil, which doesn't cost £12 a pack.