designer tubular radiator vs traditional panel radiator

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Hi,

Our through lounge has two slimline common white panel radiators which are something like 5ft long and about 90cm tall. Im not at home right now to check the exact sizes but they are on the same wall at each end of the lounge. They seem to heat the lounge satisfactorily and there are no fires or chimney breasts.
The lounge is 3m wide x 7m long x 3m high and has a bay window at one end and a patio sliding door at the other end which leads onto a conservatory. The only external wall is the bay window end but this is a 1940's semi with no cavity walls.
The flooring is laminate.

Now to the question...
One of the radiators is directly behind the sofa and neither can be moved but I have an idea to remove that one radiator and replace it with an equivalent BTU rated "designer radiator" of the tall slim tubular design in white or maybe graphite. There is a suitable blank piece of wall at a position 3 feet or so further along the wall which would place the new radiator adjacent the sofa position and allow the sofa to go back against the wall.
My worry is that despite the BTU rating equivalence of the model I have in mind (which I think needs to be in the region of 6000 BTU) I am concerned we will not feel the heat from one of these as much as a traditional radiator.
Im also taking into consideration that in the present situation, the existing radiator at that end of the room must be "obstructed" by the sofa.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give you the full picture.

Would I regret doing this???? :confused:
 
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Think you will probably regret it, radiators are not a nice sight at the best of times and designer tubular are just chavey and would probably put off buyers if you were to sell you house.
 
thanks,

The aesthetics is something else we'll have to ponder and I think I can get over having to wear some Burberry,, but if they are thermally inferior, that's what I need to know.
 
If you swap a 'traditional' 6,000 BTU radiator for a 'designer' one rated at 6,000 BTU then the heat that is emitted to the room will be exactly the same.
It defines the heat given up from the hot water as it passes through the radiator and thus transferred to the room.
 
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If you swap a 'traditional' 6,000 BTU radiator for a 'designer' one rated at 6,000 BTU then the heat that is emitted to the room will be exactly the same.
It defines the heat given up from the hot water as it passes through the radiator and thus transferred to the room.

Thanks, I know that sounds logical, but knowing how poor the towel radiator is in the bathroom at giving off heat, I was skeptical that in practice, they just weren't as good.
 
Agreed. A towel warmer has a very low BTU rating which is based on them being fully exposed. Then they are covered by fluffy insulation.
 
To warm a room a radiator should be unobstructed with a reasonable air gap at the top and bottom to allow air to circulate across the panels and fins.
Radiator is a poor term for them, water heated convectors would be better one. The better the convective air flow across a radiator, the more heat it will give up to the room, the quicker the room will warm up.
A designer radiator will not heat a room as effectively or as quickly as type 22 of the same rating. ;)
 
To warm a room a radiator should be unobstructed with a reasonable air gap at the top and bottom to allow air to circulate across the panels and fins.
Radiator is a poor term for them, water heated convectors would be better one. The better the convective air flow across a radiator, the more heat it will give up to the room, the quicker the room will warm up.
A designer radiator will not heat a room as effectively or as quickly as type 22 of the same rating. ;)

Thats what I was worried about, I still feel left with a difficult choice though because theflat panel rad we have now is completley obscured by the sofa hence not much convection going on but the sofa gets nice and warm.
If I fit a less efficient tubular designer type it will have plenty of free space to convect the heat. :( :confused: :(
 
An unobscured designer radiator will work better than the arrangement you have now :)
 
The BTU rating is the rate of how much heat the radiator emits. Whether it be designer or otherwise. It's an industry standard output figure given by the manufacturer. Just like the top speed rating of a car. A car rated at 150 mph will do 150 mph regardless of who makes it. In the same way a radiator rated at 6,000 BTU's will emit 6,000 BTU's whoever makes it or what type it is.

Otherwise it would make a mockery of the radiator sizing calculations where a the BTU requirements are calculated and then a radiator chosen to suit. I've not seen any suggestion to add say 1,000 BTU's if you select a designer radiator.

The stated BTU is the output of the radiator regardless of its type.
 
That depends on the differential temperature across the radiator at a set flowrate. This differential is affected by the airflow across the rad, the temperature of the room, the incoming water temperature and the colour of the radiator etc. If the flow and temperature of the incoming water remains the same, airflow and ambient temperature affect how much heat will be passed to the room from the rad. Even if it's the same rated output.
 
Ok,couple more questions please..
The existing rad is a single of 5ft x 70cm
The designer rad we like is rated at 7775 BTUs. Is that a satisfactory replacement?

Secondly, the system is a Vaillant Eco Tec plus 831 feeding at total of 12 various rads around the house. The manifold is 22mm but the feeds to the rads are a combination of 8mm and 10mm microbore.

I think astheticallly I'm better off doing 15mm tails for the new vertical rad but at the end of the day, will the fact its microbore be an issue for that type of rad?
 
Be aware that there is another feature no one had mentioned.

A panel rad emits the heat low down ( where the occupants live ).

A designer vertical emits the heat near the ceiling!

I would say that you might need 30% extra heat output from a vert rad to get the same feeling of warmth!

The panel rad also provides perhaps 15-20% of the heat by radiation. That makes you feel good as you intercept that heat. Not so significant with a vert rad.

Tony
 
Be aware that there is another feature no one had mentioned.

A panel rad emits the heat low down ( where the occupants live ).

A designer vertical emits the heat near the ceiling!

I would say that you might need 30% extra heat output from a vert rad to get the same feeling of warmth!

The panel rad also provides perhaps 15-20% of the heat by radiation. That makes you feel good as you intercept that heat. Not so significant with a vert rad.

Tony

Even though I'm DIY, my fear was that the heat output would be different and possibly inferior in some way. Hence my questions. Ive got to balance that against the output I get from a traditional rad cloaked by a sofa though.
Thanks for all the advice so far..
 

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