Offering a wide range of designs and features, radiators can have a major role as part of the decor, rather than simply heating. Stelrad’s Chris Harvey says take a closer look at the options available to specifiers.
Until maybe a decade ago, radiators tended to be the standard ‘compact’ design – basic but clean cut, sleek and invariably white, and found in every room of a new house. There’s a trend now however for radiators to be upgraded – designer or decorative radiators – particularly in a new property’s bathroom and kitchen and sometimes in the main living room or the main bedroom and ensuite. And of course the advent of vertical radiators has seen the arrival of vertical options in hallways and on landings, and in nooks and crannies around a new home. Where a horizontal radiator might take up too much wall space, or where the wall space simply isn’t there.
Contrary to popular belief, while underfloor heating is growing in popularity for downstairs spaces in new build homes, radiators are still very much the favoured option upstairs – whether heated by traditional boiler driven heating systems, or modern renewable systems like heat pumps. Radiators work equally well with heat pumps as with boilers – but as with any new homes, it’s important to size the radiators properly at the outset.
If the levels of insulation are adequate, then radiators will happily provide the levels of heating needed for comfort in a new home. You may need to specify slightly larger radiators or you may decide to take a closer look at the K3 radiators available in a number of designs – offering three panels and three sets of fins to ensure you get an extra 50% of the level of heat from the radiator as you would from a similar sized standard K2 design with just two panels.
The choice of designs for new radiators has burgeoned in recent years with flat fronted, vertical and horizontal lined casings, flat tube and traditional column style radiators – there is a look that will complement pretty much any style of new home on the marketplace. And not just in standard horizontal styles. Vertical radiators are growing in popularity, and the most recent style choice is to go for coloured radiators. No longer only available in white, radiators are now available from some suppliers in a number of colours, and anthracite grey seems to be the number one choice when it comes to colours around the home. It’s a colour that can mix and match with decor colours very happily.
The selection of a ladder style radiator in the bathroom and ensuite has been an option for many years although the number of styles and designs has increased hugely in recent years. As well as operating as a towel warmer, the radiator needs to offer enough heat to make the bathroom or ensuite a warm and cosy place in colder months so be sure to size the radiator properly to get the levels of heat you need in these rooms.
As well as the traditional radiators, it’s worth taking a closer look at electric radiators as an option for new homes particularly if residents are off the gas mains and out in the country. Electric radiators offer a selection of interesting designs that will enhance the home but also offer a variety of options that include fan assisted heating to up the ante on the heating front.
There are a wide range of electric models available, and it’s worth considering these for any future extensions, conservatories and added rooms that might need heating so residents don’t have the expense of extending the existing heating system with a new boiler or heat pump sized to expand the system to heat additional radiators.
For new homes with elderly, very young or vulnerable residents, it’s worth considering low surface temperature (LST) radiators that are designed so the casing never exceeds 43°C. These radiators are designed so even all the incoming and outgoing piping is covered, and comes with easy to use ‘arthritic controls.’
There are also a number of heavy duty radiators available for areas around the home that need more robust radiators and can take hard knocks better than a standard radiator. And Compact Extra Protection options for wet rooms and areas of the home that may experience moisture and condensation.
Radiators have been designed to be ‘fit for the future,’ and are part of the UK’s heating sector standard of solutions to share heat around the home. Whether standard, designer, decorative, white or coloured – horizontal or vertical – radiators are here to stay and ready to deliver heat where people need it.
Chris Harvey is head of marketing at Stelrad Radiators