Radiators/Heating

chargesuck

My 1st floor bedroom radiator is piping hot but I can not feel it radiate any heat in that particular room.

I changed the radiator from a 1000x600 to a 1200-600 Screw fix rad but didnt heat the room and didnt radiate any heat. I returned the screwfix rad for a Wosley own brand radiator same size and while this does emit heat, doesn't heat up the room.

The radiator meets the BTU level and more. The room is a north facing room with 2 external walls being an end terrace and not getting any sunlight warmth. There are no draughts or trickle vents open. No high ceilings. No issues with boiler, sludge, cold spots etc. 

has anyone come across such an issue

grumbler

I think white radiators heat the air, but radiate very little.

The air is easy to heat, but if it's an old house with poor insulation and cold walls it takes much more time to heat both the air and the walls.

Hot air moves up. In my modern house the temperature on the ground floor in winter is typically about  3°C lower than on the first floor.

Bendy_House

If the radiator is adequately sized for the room - which it appears to be - and is piping hot - which it dittos - then you can take it that it IS outputting the expected heat.

So that would suggest your room is so poorly insulated that it doesn't hold on to that heat.

A rad mostly heats a room by convection; the panels and the find heat a rising current of air which comes up from the rad, and circulates around the room. It also heats directly by radiation, but that's largely a sensation you'll feel if you are close to it.

So, why is your room so cold? You've given two big reasons - it's north-facing, and has two external walls. I wonder, tho', do you find it's colder on breezy/windy days rather than just cold ones? If so, I wonder if your floor is draughty? In my house, this is the single biggest issue - the house warms ok on cold days, but is hellish when windy. 

I would check the simplest issue first - what's on the floor, and what type of floor is it? Floorboards? If so, draughty as hell :-). Solution, lift covering and lay thin fibreboard sheets (as used as laminate underlay), sealing between them and especially around the perimeter using sealant. Then, far more disruptive and costly, you can line the two external walls with insulation, of which there are various types. Clearly that will require full decoration afterwards.

chargesuck

Thank you for replies. This is definitely a colder side of the house. for example, when the sun beats down on the back of the house all day (when we're lucky to get sun up in Scotland), you can actually go to the front (where the room in question is) to cool down as it only ever sees the sun rise but never warms the front walls.

Im currently going through a side extension so maybe that will give the end of my house some insulation against the wind that beats against it. The walls seem to be cavity wall double brick and a thin foam between which must have been added when they were going around properties to offer free cavity wall insulation.

Bendy_House

So the extension will cover one of the external walls? Cool - that's half the job done

Do check for underfloor - and under-skirting - draughts, tho'.

Is the ceiling insulated above?

chargesuck

Bendy_House said:

So the extension will cover one of the external walls? Cool - that's half the job done

Do check for underfloor - and under-skirting - draughts, tho'.

Is the ceiling insulated above?

Hi Bendy, the attic is insulated with the standard old cotton stuff from the 80s pushed between joists. 
No draughts or holes of such from my room either in the ceiling or skirtings. plastered walls rather than plasterboard (year 91 house)
Whats curious is my TV room below the bedroom in question and on the same side of the house heats up like a beauty with a large 400 x 2000 rad under a large window BUT it does have the garage (where the extension will be) covering the end of the house protecting it from any wind hitting the external wall so that it only has the 1 external wall unlike the bedroom which has 2.

rob7475

can you give us the dimensions of the room? Is the radiator a single panel or double. If double is it a type 21 or 22? You'll be amazed at the difference going from a single panel to a Double 22 can make

chargesuck

rob7475 said:

can you give us the dimensions of the room? Is the radiator a single panel or double. If double is it a type 21 or 22? You'll be amazed at the difference going from a single panel to a Double 22 can make

radiator double, type 22. Wosley home band. I was thinking of a Stelrad but was advised no complaints with their own brand
room - 3.9m x 2.9m
standard ceiling 2400

FreeBear

chargesuck said: the attic is insulated with the standard old cotton stuff from the 80s pushed between joists.

If it was done in the 80's and hasn't been touched since, that will probably be a measly 50mm of insulation. Modern standard calls for 270-300mm of fibreglass, so if you have less than 150mm, well worth putting more down.

As for the radiator sizing, a 3,000BTU radiator should be more than sufficient, A 600x1200mm Type 22 will kick out nearly twice the heat you need (assuming a CH water temperature of 70°C).

rob7475

chargesuck said:

rob7475 said:

can you give us the dimensions of the room? Is the radiator a single panel or double. If double is it a type 21 or 22? You'll be amazed at the difference going from a single panel to a Double 22 can make

radiator double, type 22. Wosley home band. I was thinking of a Stelrad but was advised no complaints with their own brand
room - 3.9m x 2.9m
standard ceiling 2400

That radiator should output between 7 and 8000 BTU so should be more than enough to heat any room. When you touch the radiator, is it too hot to hold for more than a second or two (it should be). If not, you may need to check your balancing.

Even with poor insulation above, I'd expect the room to heat up with a radiator of that size but not neccessarily hold the heat for too long.

chargesuck

rob7475 said:

chargesuck said:

rob7475 said:

can you give us the dimensions of the room? Is the radiator a single panel or double. If double is it a type 21 or 22? You'll be amazed at the difference going from a single panel to a Double 22 can make

radiator double, type 22. Wosley home band. I was thinking of a Stelrad but was advised no complaints with their own brand
room - 3.9m x 2.9m
standard ceiling 2400

That radiator should output between 7 and 8000 BTU so should be more than enough to heat any room. When you touch the radiator, is it too hot to hold for more than a second or two (it should be). If not, you may need to check your balancing.

Even with poor insulation above, I'd expect the room to heat up with a radiator of that size but not neccessarily hold the heat for too long.

super hot to touch but simply doesnt radiate or convect heat as much as or in the same way my other radiators do.

entering the room and there is a distinct coldness compared to other rooms.

hopfully, I dont have a spirit hanging around