radiator location options

[nos]

Hi, I'm just after a bit of advice on where to locate a radiator.

I've attached a picture of the room plan with a few options. The room that contains the sofa is currently a conservatory, but is being taken down and an extension built in a couple of weeks.

Untitled

• nos
• 13 Sep 2014
• 1

The dining room already contains one radiator (top right of picture). Would adding another radiator at option 1 work, would that give good coverage for the whole room? particularly the part of the room where the sofa is located?

Option 2 is to put the radiator behind the sofa. I know that's not ideal as it will trap the heat but that would be preferable to option 3, as ideally I'd want to keep that wall clear so it looks better.

Any help or advice is appreciated.

Cheers
nos

 

[Justin Passing]

Cold from the doors(doors? at left as we look) will get to anyone on the sofa if you go with 1, and the others aren't ideal.
As the floor will be a new thing you could put a trench heater below the door?
They aren't huge output but they are effective.

 

[nos]

Cheers for the reply. A trench heater is a good idea, I'd never heard of them tbh, although have just looked and they seem quite expensive.

I take it they can be connected to the existing radiators? do they have separate controls?

What size would I need, the door opening is approx 2.3m?

If a trench heater isn't an option for me, which option for radiator placement would be best? an oversized radiator behind the sofa?

 

[JohnD]

positions 2 and 3 (one each) would give a good spread of warmth, preferably long and low. It appears that all the other walls are internal, or will be newly built to modern standards, so will have little heat loss.

Floor-length curtains over the big window/glass doors will reduce cold airflow from the glass, and save energy from warming the garden.

The more heat you pour towards the glass, the less cold air will come off it, but the more energy will be wasted.

If you do go for the trench, it must be to the room side of any present or future curtains.

If position 1 is an external wall with a small window, it will then be the coolest part of the room.

If you are rebuilding, you might consider running at least CH pipework now, and possibly fitting an extra rad later. It will be much cheaper and less disruptive than taking up the floor later.

Conservatories are terrible for energy wastage, so whatever you do will be more comfortable and cheaper to heat.

 

[nos]

Cheers for the reply JohnD...

There's probably not room for a trench without it having an impact on the look of the room as it's only a small area.

Only position 2 and the wall with the doors on are external facing. Position 2 is an existing wall but is going to be insulated as part the building work. All other walls are internal.

So long and low behind the sofa would work? a double convector? I've worked out the BTU rating for the room, so should I just up it a bit to cover for the loss behind the sofa?

I like the idea about running pipes to an extra position that I could use at a later date if needed, probably to position 1. As I'm laying an engineered wood floor so access at a later date would be difficult.

Is there a good way (any tips/tricks) for concealing the pipes rather than just having two pipes sticking out of the floor?

The conservatory was already there when we bought the house and is useless tbh, it can't be used for around 5 months of the year because it's too cold and during the summer when the sun is out, it's way too hot you just sweat your a$$ off.