Radiator behind sofa - inefficient?

javixeneize

Hi

i have a radiator behind a sofa, and I believe it is not heating the room as it should. It is like 5-10cm behind and I can’t move it anymore forward

i have heard about radiator reflectors, but I don’t know if that solution would work for me, as this seems to be intended for the heat the radiator loses against the wall, isn’t it?

Can somebody advise how can I make it more efficient without moving the sofa?

thanks

Keep_pedalling

Would it be possible to replace the rad with another one elsewhere in the room?

javixeneize

No, that would not be an option. I am
after the radiator reflectors or if it exists, any type of fan that can spread the heat over the room

grumpy_codger

javixeneize said:

Hi

i have a radiator behind a sofa, and I believe it is not heating the room as it should.

It's less efficient, but not much. As its name says it radiates heat that in your case heats the sofa that ultimately heats the room too. However, regardless of the name, radiators rely more on natural convection  of air (~80%) than on radiation (~20%).

Can somebody advise how can I make it more efficient without moving the sofa?

Make sure nothing stops natural air circulation through the radiator - things on the top, dust in the fins.

javixeneize

Thanks.


back to the previous message, is it worth considering radiator reflectors or fan radiators?

grumpy_codger

A reflector on the wall behind results in lesser heating of the wall. This is more important for external walls where the heat travels outside.

Any fan improves air circulation and the heat transfer to the air in the room.

Bigphil1474

OP, we have similar in a house we recently moved into, and the best we can do is move the sofa a few inch from the radiator. If it's on an internal wall there's arguments against a reflector - If you're heating the internal wall up it will still heat the house. I'm not sure a fan is worth it (might as well just plug in an extra heater on low setting?), so we're sticking with things as they are. We have a portable thermostat so we just make sure it's not near the sofa.

casper_gutman

Our sofa is in front of the radiator, but I don't think it really matters much. Perhaps it depends on the design of the sofa. In our case the sofa has legs so there can be a good circulation of air under and around it. Anyway, the size of the radiator means that we can't realistically leave the space in front of it clear.

moneysaver1978

A friend had a radiator fan and he thinks it made a difference but it was noisy and the heat from the radiator was hitting his neck.

So while it worked (how much it made a difference to the room, I don't know), due to annoyance, he donated it on Freecycle.

Albermarle

We have our sofa 8 or 9 cms from the radiator and it seems to heat up the room pretty well.
Although probably the radiator is plenty big enough for the room, so that probably helps.

javixeneize

Thanks all. This is a picture of my display, hope it helps to clarify