Has Anyone Used Radiator Reflectors Before and What do They Think?

raul_breganzo

Hi

Has anyone used reflectors on radiators (NOT foil)?
I would like to conserve some heat and read up on this. My radiators are already on so I'd like a simple DIY job to cut around and put the reflectors behind, sitting on the brackets???

Suggestions/recommendations would be most appreciated please?

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/blog/2013/1 ... our-rooms/

TheCyclingProgrammer

Personally I don't buy the claim that you lose 40% of your heat through the wall behind the radiator. If you've got newer radiators with fins then these primarily heat the room via convection, not radiation, so they heat will be rising from the top of the radiator, convecting across the room and then back across the floor to the radiator in a current.

If you have decent, appropriately sized radiators then I'm not sure why you'd need these to be honest.

DRP

TheCyclingProgrammer wrote: »

Personally I don't buy the claim that you lose 40% of your heat through the wall behind the radiator. If you've got newer radiators with fins then these primarily heat the room via convection, not radiation, so they heat will be rising from the top of the radiator, convecting across the room and then back across the floor to the radiator in a current.

If you have decent, appropriately sized radiators then I'm not sure why you'd need these to be honest.

agree.

check the btu for the room size / type.

I sorted a cold, damp bathroom just by fitting a modern radiator with double the output.

Jonesya

There's been independent testing of these, the savings come mostly from stopping heat loss through the walls behind the radiator and strongly depend on the existing wall.

For an uninsulated solid brick wall they can make financial sense, for a well insulated cavity wall, probably not.

EssexExile

Just cut some cardboard to go behind the radiator, sitting on the brackets, cover it with kitchen foil. If you want to be posh cover it with that reflective insulation foil sandwich stuff.

psychic_teabag

I just have some old wall paper hanging down from the bracket, with an air gap to the wall. The paper warms up, but the wall behind that stays cool, which means less heat lost into the wall.

I didn't bother with foil since I wasn't convinced that radiation is the problem. I was just trying to prevent the wall warming up, and therefore conducting heat away.

southcoastrgi

Waste of time & money