Are hydronic plinth heaters suitable for non-kitchen rooms?

ed110220

Hi all, just a quick question about hydronic plinth heaters, the ones that run off the central heating system, normally fitted in the kitchen.

How suitable would they be for elsewhere? I have a bedroom in which the radiator is in the way and was thinking I could replace it with a plinth heater in the bottom of a built in cupboard. Similarly in the living room the radiator is in the way of the sofa.

Or are there big compromised in terms of performance?

Ed

brightontraveller

ed110220 wrote: »

Hi all, just a quick question about hydronic plinth heaters, the ones that run off the central heating system, normally fitted in the kitchen.

How suitable would they be for elsewhere? I have a bedroom in which the radiator is in the way and was thinking I could replace it with a plinth heater in the bottom of a built in cupboard. Similarly in the living room the radiator is in the way of the sofa.

Or are there big compromised in terms of performance?

Ed

It would normally be better to move, re-size,change style of existing rads or go underfloor heating main problem with the type you suggest is noise from fan, some only work when temperature falls below certain amount, smell of burning dust when used after long periods of inactivity, slightly more expensive to run if you can put up with those then there fine... Performance do you mean kWh? if so there the same its just cost to produce that varies

ed110220

Hi, I realise those would normally be better options but UFH is out of the question due to cost, palaver of lifting and relaying a 1940s parquet floor etc. Resiting radiator is tricky as the room has a single door on one side, double doors on another, window to floor level on a third and the rest of the walls pretty much taken up with sofa, sideboard TV etc... Plus of course the pipes can't go under the floor to move it to the other side of the room.

Is a burning smell really a problem? I wouldn't have thought the central heating water should get hot enough to cause that. By performance I meant is it likely to give close to the rated kW output given normal flow rates and temperature.

Ed

DRP

how about a narrower, taller radiator either sited in the same place as existing or in a more convenient spot? we did this in a lounge, on an unused return wall and it gave us adjacent wall space to fit in a large sofa.

casper_g

How about just putting the radiator behind a piece of furniture, say the sofa. It's unlikely to do much harm to the sofa unless it's especially sensitive (antique leather etc), and most of the heating effect is by convection not radiant heating (despite what the name suggests) so the room will still get warm.

The biggest advantage over a hydronic plinth heater for me would be the silent operation, and higher reliability.

I know some fancy vertical radiators can look pretty good, but I'd sooner not see a radiator than see a pretty (and pricey) one!

665298Jim

There is a new hydronic heater just being launched by Smith's Fan Convectors that fits into 80mm plinths found in some kitchens and most fitted bedroom and office furniture. It's called the Space Saver SS80. If you go to their website smiths-env.com and look under Space Saver you can download the SS80 leaflet.

With regard to noise, hydronic plinth heaters are considerably quieter than electric plinth heaters with noise measurements generally lower than a fridge. They also have much lower running costs (circa £5 per year) as the heat comes from the central heating system.