Wall radiators – worth fitting or outdated?

[ericmark]

[Pendant mode on] To be even more ridiculous, all of the 100% will be lost, from the room anyway, lost through the walls The only warmth from which any value is derived, is the tiny amount, which warms the individuals in the room.

Yes good point, the higher the differential the higher the heat loss. So efficiency is all about not getting any room warmer than required, and if the room is unoccupied, it does not require being warm. So efficiency is down to recovery time.

Of course it all depends on the parameters you set - if you are defining the human body as the energy receiving object, then yes, you would have to swallow the radiator to achieve 100% efficiency.

The most efficient form I can think of, to transfer warmth to the body, is an electric under blanket.

Spot on.

We have for years done daft things when heating the home, like radiators under a window, but in the main that is the one place where you can't place furniture, so although heating wise it may not make sense, to be able to use the house it does.

I have looked at TRV control, if on an internal wall, great, on an external wall really need a remote sensor on the internal wall, as the TRV head will be colder than the room. As to if the walls cooling is enough to worry about is another thing.

I know years ago we simply accepted next to the window is cold, so we simply did not place chairs next to the window. We had high backed chairs to stop the draft, and accepted the room would not be heated even, and standard greeting was Oh come in and have a chair by the fire.

We could not even get it into our thick heads, that drawing the combustion air from the door to the fire, was going to cause cold drafts. Some homes did have ducts to bring air direct to the fire, but very few.

So the whole reason central heating worked, was the fires combustion air was drawn from outside, so we got rid of drafts.

But double glazing has transformed the home, yes there are different grades, but we retain the heat far better, and this does raise the question 24/7 or as and when required, 24/7 does cost more, but is it enough more to worry about?

So recovery times, and cooling times become far more important, and also how many rooms, so not counting halls and landing, I have 14 rooms, some very small, toilet/shower room for example, but for me in winter to heat all 14 to 20°C would cost a fortune, so 16°C base temperature, and 22°C in living room in the evening.

But in a two up two down house, likely one would heat all rooms.

So for your house, how important is recovery time? With a 15-minute recovery time, and working 8 miles from home, geo-fencing will likely work. As the recovery time increase, you need to start re-heating before you leave work, so move to simple time.

But live style matters, also personal preferences, I found sleeping during the day and working at night hard when in Algeria, as too hot with the AC, and too noisy with the AC.

I want it cooler when sleeping. The recovery time, also has the reverse, use a fan heater, and as soon as it turns off you feel cold, use an oil filled radiators and the stored heat bridges the gap.

Basically there is no magic wand, you have to consider what you want.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

So the whole reason central heating worked, was the fires combustion air was drawn from outside, so we got rid of drafts.

Originally, no. Originally, central heating was just a matter of a centralised heat source, providing heat to the entire building, it was nowt to do with eliminating drafts. Many schools, for instance, had a separate boiler-house, burning coal, or coke, and open vented. Gas boilers, would be likewise, be open vented, and draw their combustion air from the room they were located in. There are still many of these in use.

Only later, did balanced-flue appliances appear, which draw their combustion air, from outdoors, and so no cold drafts/less risk of CO poisoning.