Foil behind radiators

[wilroda]

Hi

I am thinking of putting foil behind all my radiators and am wondering how effective this is and what sort of saving could i expect.

Thanks for your input

 

[wilhelm]

keep it for the turkey. ...

insulate the loft if you want something to do.

i await all the "spotters" to now give a reason why foil is "good"

 

[Nige F]

It stops rising damp

 

[Rob]

i doubt it stops it all together

 

[peter the plumber]

dont know if it helps but it helps keeping your sandwiches fresh

 

[2face]

do all the walls it stops them seeing wot u r doing ... u know who .... THEM ...THEM UP THERE ...they are watching all the time .. ahhhhhh

 

[suffolklad]

with the fuel prices going up every bill i doudt you will ever see a saving . dont tell my neighbour about doing it are party wall gets nice and hot

 

[sime10]

Hot air rises better off putting it on the ceiling to push it back down in the bedrooms make sure its mirror like

 

[wilroda]

Thanks very much for your opinions!

I did wonder if the foil would be better saved for the turkey!!

......i'll do that then......!!

 

[timbalcombe]

surely selling this stuff advertised as saving energy is ilegal then

 

[sime10]

Perfect baked potatoes in the microwave with the betterware potato baker is illegal too try suing em

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

If you are going to do it then dont bother with any rads that are on internal walls. Increase the effect by getting a thin roll 3 or 4 mm of polystyrene and sticking that to the wall first then put the foil shiny side facing you on top of that.
The word radiator is actually a misnomer as the heat is actually convected.
Theres no reason why this shouldnt stop you losing heat to external walls.

Heres my views on it

Is it worth the effort?

When I lived in an end terraced street house with solid 9" walls I believed it was so I did it.
Now I live in a modern detached house but with insulated walls I wouldnt bother

Is it worth looking at foil down the back of your rads when it doesn't go with your colour scheme?

Unless you have 9" uninsulated walls I would say no.

Is the payback time worth the expense?

Not sure! I have seen no data and cant be bothered finding out K and U values I would guess the answer is > probably but make sure you do all the other more cost effective measures first

I look at it this way. If you save just one percent of a thousand pound a year gas bill then you can celebrate the event every year with a free bargain bucket full of chicken.
For my £350 ish a year I would only get fish and chips