Radiators - Tips on strategically placing them in your home

Whilst watching a DIY programme the other day, this writer was absolutely dumfounded by the basic errors people make when refitting old heating units for new ones. The most common traps people would fall into were placing their units in perhaps the warmest part of the room, i.e. the furthest away from their large bay windows. They would also select products which were mismatched in terms of size, or radiators that quite simply didn't match with the theme of the room. It's great that there are an abundance of television programmes such as these, and resources online to help us avoid some of these common pitfalls. After all it's not rocket science, but it does tend to be one of those things that is often rushed and hence a botched job is ensued. The range of styles and designs extend to the bathroom, with bathroom towel rails offering many a perfect solution to an age old problem. Such heating units have dual functionality, as not only do they help to keep the room warm with an element of radiating heat, but they also dry your bathroom towels as well. Furthermore, the contemporary styles available result in easy integration with many bathrooms. In modern homes these heating units are taken for granted. However you can still opt for bathroom radiators, if you feel towel rails might not be the best solution for your bathroom. In this case perhaps a vertical column radiator may be more appropriate for your requirements, and something stylish like the Zephyr is well worth looking at.

Altima Horizontal

From home to office

Often heating units in offices can go largely unnoticed, but sometimes the units used in modern offices such as those in Canary Warf in London, can be equally as impressive as ones used to heat our home. Certainly you may happen to work in an office, under a penny saving employer who may not want to have to fork out for brand new heating units this year. Radiators, even brand new ones, however don't have to be expensive. It's far better to keep the staff happy and more productive in colder months, with a more efficient heating system. Also, it's certainly a bonus if the products chosen brighten up the office a little. Certainly a lot of feature radiators currently on the market are able to do this perfectly well. In addition, a lot of London office meeting rooms will have heating systems in place that perhaps not only cater for their employees but also international clients coming for meetings. For business travellers, they may be coming from hot climates which they have grown accustomed to, so coming to the cold and harsh weather conditions the UK presents may be a bit of a shock. However, if modern radiators are used in offices with greater heating efficiencies than older units it may just help those business meetings go a little smoother than they would otherwise in a cold room. A lot of offices will also have energy saving measures in place, a sign that we are slowly moving to better energy saving practices.

Lightweight aluminium alternative to cast iron

Eco-friendly designs

In recent years, there has been more pressure put on designers to perhaps be more innovative and eco-friendly when it comes to designing their products. Every day we are bombarded with new products designed to cut our carbon emissions, or in someway help the environment. It's certainly no different when it comes to heating units as well. Devices for household radiators as well as commercial heating units have come onto the market that enable inefficiencies in existing heating setups to be turned around to more efficient systems. This is perhaps perfectly exemplified in products that are specifically designed by inventors to capture wasted heat often found at the back of units and remit that heat back out. Thus making radiators more energy efficient, but devices like these ones do not only capture wasted heat, but also help reduce heating bills providing substantial savings. There are also similar appliances that can be used in offices up and down the country, thus making a huge collective effort in reducing our carbon footprints together. However, with offices especially at places like Canary Wharf, it can be somewhat harder to ensure offices are operating at 100 percent energy efficiency. Some radiators in more outdated offices will clearly be clocking up large electricity bills, and wasting a lot of radiated heat. But, growing consciousness of the global energy crisis we are facing has heightened the need for action and you will see that many offices now in such large buildings as Canary Wharf will be fully compliant with the latest EU regulations.

Simple stainless steel

Vertically challenged

It was mentioned earlier, the common pitfalls people enter when doing a rush job on upgrading their heating units. But sometimes, people neglect to fully appreciate what's really on offer to them. They may have seen a nice horizontal wall mounted unit at their neighbour's house and decided to get the same one. It's very tempting to do and we've all been there. Radiators, however, do need to be chosen with great care, as it’s all too easy to be lumbered with something that doesn't look good and doesn't do a good job of heating the room. So rather than copy what other people have got in their homes, take inspiration from magazines, TV programmes and the latest designer magazines. In doing this, you will often surprise yourself by finding styles of even traditional radiators that you never knew existed. So it's important to take lessons from others, but at the end of the day follow what your instincts tell you as well. After all you don't have to go with what tradition dictates, which might be a compact horizontal unit. Many designers are in fact coming out with weird and wonderful radiators that are of the vertical variety, so be sure to have a look at these as well. Lastly, whether it's a unit for your office or home be sure to check just how energy efficient your final choice is, and if it does have any inefficiencies what can be done to minimize them? The changes that we can make today are the changes that will have a big impact on our future.

Classic column style