Radiator size

aetbaar

I need to replace a landing hallway radiator which is at the entrance of the house near the front door

it currently has a 1400x400 double radiator probably over 20 years old and it is not really doing its job as its very cold

i want to replace with a 1800x600 or 1600x600 double radiator

the bigger gives output of 10976 BTU and 3024 W and the smaller 9766 BTU and 2744 W from what i can see the bigger one gives off 12% more heat but is 17% Watts higher in output which i assume corresponds to gas bill too

is it worth going for the bigger one or not?- ie is there an efficiency by getting a slightly bigger one as the boiler is already heating a radiator so a little more water wont make much difference but the extra output way

downstairs landing is 2.8m x6m and upstairs floor too as its an open landing and staircase- there is an old 90cm widrh radiator upstairs too but that doesnt do much i dont think

so should i go for th 1600 as it will be enough and less to run or does the 1800 make better sense as its only a little bit bigger and should not cost that much more to run?

any help appreciated

Jonesya

Get the bigger one and fit a TRV, that way it shouldn't cost any more to run than the smaller one but it's got spare capacity if you need it and warms the room up more quickly

aetbaar

good idea - so reducing the output on the TRV actually reduces the heat output then? and then cuts off the heat to that radiator when it gets to a certain temp?

Jonesya

You normally have two valves on the radiator - a lockshield valve and the TRV.

The TRV opens and closes to maintain the set room temperature. So with a bigger radiator the room will warm up quicker so it wouldn't need to run as much.

The lockshield valve is for balancing the flow on the system but you could shut this a bit more if you wanted to, to reduce the heat output from the radiator slightly.

aetbaar

ok great thanks i have gone for the bigger one

ariba10

If the Radiator you now have is cold, how is a bigger one going to be warmer?

moneyistooshorttomention

Bigger radiators DO help.

I've recently had central heating modernised on house I have recently bought and "extra capacity" DOES make a big difference.

Bigger means more output. Double (meaning double convector) does mean more output. There IS a big difference.

Having had this done...trust your OWN judgement and not any firms. I've found that a firm seemed to think a certain size etc of radiator was adequate...but it didn't turn out enough heat for a young person (never mind an older one).

YOU are the best judge of what is needed. I've certainly found personally that I have just been SO vindicated when a nearby house owner used exactly the same firm and then told me how they had done things on her house. Boy...was I right in thinking that I was the one that was "right" and NOT the firm concerned...

A radiator thermostat can be adjusted if the radiator proves to be "too much" on the one hand. A too small radiator cant be on the other hand...