Radiator Positioning Dilemma

NathanMorgan

I am after advice on where is the best location for me to put a new radiator in my living room.

My living room sofa is up against the window and that is the only space that I can put it and right opposite I have a piece of furniture which holds the telephone, broadband box etc.

Is there any point placing a radiator behind the sofa as it would potentially block any heat output and the only other option I have is to buy a vertical radiator to put opposite the piece of furniture opposite the window.

Any suggestions would be great.

Mrs_Imp

Conventionally it's better to have a radiator under the window, as it heats the cold air before it comes in to the room. If you put a radiator on the opposite wall to the window you can easily end up with warm head and cold toes, and a current forming. The warm air by the radiator rises, then sinks again when it hits the cold window, before being dragged along to the radiator, where it rises again.

NathanMorgan

wouldn't putting a radiator behind the sofa be useless or can it still be worthwhile?

PasturesNew

You can get skirting board radiators.... could be worth investigating.

Furts

The notion of radiators being located under a window dates back to the times of wooden windows and single glazing. It helped combat heat losses and the draughts helped circulate the heat. It was also argued that people did not put furniture under windows hence a radiator was not impinging on usable space.

Spool on, and today good practice for energy saving would be to locate a radiator on an internal wall. However, insulation and air tightness levels may mean a radiator is not required at all.

So it is up to OP to decide what age of room, what standard of insulation, what level of heating and what their personal preferences are.

An additional comment, which is my personal preference, is to avoid vertical radiators - they tend to be expensive and also give a low heat output.

Ant555

I know there is probably lots of research and theory as to the 'best' place to put a radiator but in the real world many rooms have a limited number of options.

Just out of interest, how big is the room?

Our central heating was already in place when we moved in and the sofa in our living room is directly infront of it. The room feels just as warm as any other when the heating is on.
It has a TRV and if I have it set to the middle setting then it goes on and off as one would expect - If I have it set high then the room is stifling.

Smiley_Dan

The convention of placing radiators under windows comes from when windows were poorly performing. They sought to balance the down draught coming from the window, to avoid uncomfortable draughts in the room.

Definitely best to place on an internal wall assuming you have a decent house.

Best place for a radiator is in a bin because you don't need it because you have insulated and air tightened properly.

NathanMorgan

have any of you got a radiator located behind a sofa and found it effective in heating the room?

PasturesNew

NathanMorgan wrote: »

have any of you got a radiator located behind a sofa and found it effective in heating the room?

My parents did, it was a fabric sofa - and it worked/heated the room. As my mum was elderly I felt it worked well too as it was really heating her from all directions as she lay on the sofa with her magazines.

But, reaching the TRV is then an issue. My dad jammed a plastic bottle on top of it so you only had to reach half way down and turn it using the bottle.

PenguinOfDeath

We have a rad behind a sofa with a bit of a gap, never had a problem and we sit near to it than we would if it was under the window!

Gloomendoom

PenguinOfDeath wrote: »

We have a rad behind a sofa with a bit of a gap, never had a problem and we sit near to it than we would if it was under the window!

We have radiators behind both sofas with a gap in our sitting room. They seem to work well enough. I suspect that it might actually make them more efficient, or at least no less efficient, as most of a radiator's output is via convection rather than radiation. In fact, currently, we are only using one radiator.

To put things in context, the house has solid stone walls and single glazing, mostly in metal frames.