Putting foil behind radiators .. Is it worth it ?

WLM21

Is it really worth it putting foil behind radiators on external walls ?

Or is it better using the purpose made foils, sold in the DIY shops, such as

http://www.homebase.co.uk/ProductDisplay?storeId=10201&productId=169753&langId=110&catalogId=10011&utm_campaign=bazaarvoice&utm_medium=SearchVoice&utm_source=RatingsAndReviews&utm_content=Default
thank you

enfield_freddy

my local housing association gave us all free panels , they are magnetic and stick to the back of the rads


dull colour to rad , shiny outwards , thin enough to cut with scissors ,


do they work? , seem to , and in my case they were free! , they also supplied about 20 top of the range bulbs , and a free kettle , and , etc , etc

DTDfanBoy

enfield_freddy wrote: »

my local housing association gave us all free panels , they are magnetic and stick to the back of the rads


dull colour to rad , shiny outwards , thin enough to cut with scissors ,


do they work? , seem to , and in my case they were free! , they also supplied about 20 top of the range bulbs , and a free kettle , and , etc , etc

That sounds quite strange surely that will just prevent the radiator from doing it's job

enfield_freddy

no they stop the heat going out of the back and into the external walls , all the heat comes out of the front (in theory)

anotheruser

I thought this.

I've done it to all but one of my radiators. Has it really worked? I honestly couldn't say. I didn't particularly notice a huge increase in heat but now they're there, I won't be moving them.

I secured mine with Blutac :P

Shiny side pointing the radiator.

Pennylane

We did this to all our radiators when we moved in about 20 years ago and the house is always toasty warm.

jhs14

As radiators work by convection not radiation, they will surely make minimal difference..

cyclonebri1

Attaching direct to a flat panel rad will actually save money by making the rad output less, therefore the water returns hotter, it won't give more heat into the room it will give less.
However treating the wall behind does give results and directs heat more into the room rather than the wall itself, maybe the freebie matts where spaced of the rad.

Free matts, free light bulbs and free kettles etc?, I'd keep that quiet as most folks have to pay and can get quite "tetchy" when others don't

smifffy1989

We got ours from screwfix and used it on the radiators that are mounted on external walls. I have to say it does work to an extent, you can feel more heat above the rad than before.

Whether it was worth the outlay of about a £5 I am not sure, but the rooms heat up quicker so for a comfort factor I would recommend them.

For fitting we used double sided tape on the back and stuck it to the wall. You can only see it if you are directly above the rad.

imho

smifffy1989.Thank you for saying u use double sided tape i had never even thought of that as i have tried small drawing pins,Blue tack.tried to put small wire on the foil to wrap round the back of the radiator and only the wire worked.
I just spent 15mins using double sided tape and all stuck to wall perfect now.
Owe u a drink and me a slap as not even thinking of doing double sided tape !

smifffy1989

imho wrote: »

smifffy1989.Thank you for saying u use double sided tape i had never even thought of that as i have tried small drawing pins,Blue tack.tried to put small wire on the foil to wrap round the back of the radiator and only the wire worked.
I just spent 15mins using double sided tape and all stuck to wall perfect now.
Owe u a drink and me a slap as not even thinking of doing double sided tape !

Haha No worries glad it does the job!