Every house in the UK that has a heating system has a form of radiating that heat into the room using a radiator. It is very important to have the right size of radiator in the room so it can heat it adequately. This is where the benefits of installing convector radiators are greater than that of a simple panel radiator.
Watch this quick video on convector radiators for more advice:
Why do convector radiators heat the room quicker? Convector radiators are different from panel radiators because of the addition of ‘convecting fins’ on the back of the radiator. These fins greatly increase the surface area that colder air can come into contact with and pick up heat.
Imagine you had a usual Stelrad Elite panel radiator that is 1000mm long and 600mm high. The average BTU of such a radiator is 2081. Now if you add the fins to the panel radiator of the same size your BTU is greatly increased to 3412. 1000 extra BTU for no more space taken up in the room. You can even buy double panel single convector radiators. Again one of the same dimentions would produce 4808 BTU. The next radiator up (and the most common in homes in the UK) are the double panel convector radiators. One of the same dimensions (1000×600) can produce a massive 6067 BTU. An extra 3986 BTU for no extra use if space. It is no wonder that this particular type of radiator is so popular with installers and the general public.
How To Calculate the BTU required for you room: It is really very simple but very important. The last thing you want to buy a nice new radiator that doesn’t have the capability to actually heat the room in which it is situated! Here is how you do it. First measure the room to get a cubic feet measurement. (width x height x length) Then multiply the cubic feet by 5. So a small room with a size of 720 cubic feet the BTU required for that room would be 3600. All radiators have their BTU rating on them when you buy them.
Where to buy convector radiators and why buy my own? Firstly if you buy your own radiators and not your engineer, then you avoid their mark up and save money. If you aren’t sure which ones to buy then use our calculator or ask your installing engineer. They should tell you.
