Why is my heating not warming my rooms up?

[sneakyg]

the rads seem to get hot all over, no air trapped. but the rooms are not warming up.

the rads seem to be a decent size for the rooms (rooms not that big), but something is not right.

ive set the the gage to its highest on the vaillant boiler and on the thermostat but the rooms do not warm up no matter how long the boilers been on for.

The valves on all the rads r rubbish and dont control the heat - the ones which are on are on and the one in the spare room is not on (not using the room) and no hot water goes to the pipes when ive tried to turn them on manually (to see if it would help?)

All windows shut, room doors shut and their is insullation in the loft.

am i missing something?

 

[Agile]

If they are at 80C then they cannot be large nough if they are not bringing the room up to 22 degrees above the external temperature.

You can do do a heat loss calculation if it makes you happier but its pretty obvious to what your problem is.

Tony

 

[sneakyg]

How do i do a heat loss calculation?

For example the rad in my bedroom is 90x50x10 and the room is about 12x13

 

[Agile]

When quoting dimensions you should not mix units.

Rads are described best in mm. Rooms can be quoted in m.

Tony

 

[YELLERBELLY]

I meant http://www.theradiatorcompany.com/heatoutput/

 

[sneakyg]

Hi

Done the Heat loss calculation for my room and it appears that i need a radiator producing between 3000 - 4000 BTU (for this room)

My question is - is their anyway that i can check what BTU the rads im currently using are producing?

Thanks

 

[Agile]

That sounds too low to me.

You measure your rad and compare it with the catalogue taking into account if it does not have any fins etc.

You need to compare the actual temperature achieved relative to the outside temperature. So if you now get 10C indoors when its freezing outside then you would need one with twice the output for example. Or a bit larger and a TRV for faster heatup.

Tony

 

[RigidRaider]

What is the depth of the attic insulation?

Maybe I'm not supposed to say this but there's never been a cheaper time to top up your insulation. For example Wickes are doing four rolls of 170mm glass wool for £29.97, each is 8.1 m2 so you could do a semi for £30. When we added 100mm to our existing 100mm our gas bill dropped dramatically and the house suddenly felt silky warm all over. We now have 370mm, which is probably excessive but what the hell, it was so cheap.

 

[sneakyg]

Thanks Tony

1. what are Fins?
2. whats the best/easiest way to measure the temp im getting indoors?
3. why does it seem too low to you?

thanks for all your help, i appreciate it

 

[sneakyg]

What is the depth of the attic insulation?

Maybe I'm not supposed to say this but there's never been a cheaper time to top up your insulation. For example Wickes are doing four rolls of 170mm glass wool for £29.97, each is 8.1 m2 so you could do a semi for £30. When we added 100mm to our existing 100mm our gas bill dropped dramatically and the house suddenly felt silky warm all over. We now have 370mm, which is probably excessive but what the hell, it was so cheap.

Thanks for the tip

im not sure what the depth of it is, but this may be an option aswell.....is it easy to fit etc?

 

[JohnD]

im not sure what the depth of it is

You'd best go and measure it straight away. This is the easiest. cheapest and most money-saving way to get your rooms warm. While you are up in the loft measure the loft hatch and the distance between the room timbers, and get an idea of what will obstruct you doing the job. You will also need an extension lamp (a torch is not good enough)

Homebase are

and B&Q probably also have offers on.

Also check for draughts in the rooms.

 

[RigidRaider]

Yes it's easy to fit; it's just a ball-ache. Be sure to tread only on the joists, a head torch will make life easier. Unwrap the roll and fit it between the joists or if you are going over existing insulation that's up to the tops of the joists, go across the other way. Tuck it down neatly, I use a kids' plastic golf club as an arm extension to pat it down gently and get it nice and even.

The wide rolls come partly pre-cut into different widths so you'll need a sharp knife to finish off the cut, which doesn't go all the way through. Wearing a simple mask will help to prevent the stuff irritating your throat though I usually find that after a good cough and a hot shower I'm OK. In some places you might need to push the glass wool under straps, pipes or wires in order to get it lying down properly; just cut and push it in from each side.

You won't believe the difference it makes to your house and you'll be kicking yourself for not having done it sooner.

 

[sneakyg]

That sounds too low to me.

You measure your rad and compare it with the catalogue taking into account if it does not have any fins etc.

You need to compare the actual temperature achieved relative to the outside temperature. So if you now get 10C indoors when its freezing outside then you would need one with twice the output for example. Or a bit larger and a TRV for faster heatup.

Tony

Hi

This heating lark is complicated, i done a heat loss calculation thingybob and it suggested that i needed a rad capable of outputting between 3000-4000 btu.
However im currently using a 900 x 500 double rad which im guessing should output at 5300 BTU,
so how efficent is the hest loss calculator? and whats the best way of ensuring that if i change the rad for a 1400 x 600 double that it would do the trick?

cheers

 

[RigidRaider]

£30 at Wickes will buy you four rolls of 8m2 x 170mm insulation, which will make the house feel warmer and will start saving you money from day 1. When we doubled up our insulation our heating bills almost halved.

What's the price of a new radiator?

 

[ajrobb]

If they are at 80C then they cannot be large nough if they are not bringing the room up to 22 degrees above the external temperature.

That may be a problem. If the outside temperature is -6ºC, your suggestion would only give a chilly 14ºC inside. British heating often isn't designed to cope with sub-zero temperatures. I agree with making sure the loft insulation is adequate. I'm not convinced I'd notice a huge difference between 100mm and 250mm though (80W for 22ºC over 15 m²). £1/m² from Wickes is relatively expensive. I paid half that at Homebase in the spring (£4/8m²x170mm). I saw them at £5/roll in the autumn. I topped up from 150mm to 320mm over 32m² for £16 but only expect to save 100W in cold weather.

Central heating radiators cost roughly £60/kW (Screwfix). The cheapest solution might be to get a thermostatic electric heater for use in extreme weather. OK, it will cost more to run but could work out cheaper overall. (Turn the central heating thermostats up when you're using it.)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-HT...-Heater/dp/B0000C6WNQ/ref=dp_cp_ob_kh_title_0
http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-HS20-Convector-Heater-2kW/dp/B0000W5FSU/ref=pd_bxgy_kh_img_b