Consider Your Home Décor

If you want your radiator to help boost your room’s décor, then it is essential that you choose a designer radiator with the most suitable size, shape, and colour for your room. Alternatively, if you need a low-key, sleek radiator for your living room, then designer radiators are also an excellent choice.

Radiator Design

There is an extensive selection of stylish Designer Radiators on the market, from the simple horizontal radiator to the more classic cast iron option. If your living room has classic, traditional décor, then you would benefit from a discreet column radiator. In this case, try to dodge bold colour schemes which some Designer Radiators have, to avoid clashing with the rest of your room. It is important to match the style of your radiator to your existing décor.

Materials

When choosing which designer radiator is best for you, you should keep in mind that the style and material to ensure you select the best radiator for your space. If you have a large living room, aluminium radiators are not the best option as they heat up fast, but also cool down fast. This means they will be unable to sustain the heat in a large room, resulting in undesirable heat and higher energy bills. Therefore, it is best for you to choose a steel, designer radiator for a large room, as they will emit heat for longer, keeping your living room nice and cosy.

BTU output

The BTU rating on radiators is extremely important when it comes to finding the right radiator for your living room, where you will spend a lot of your time. A BTU (British Thermal Units) rating will show you exactly how much heat your radiator will emit, to give you a clearer indication into how much heat you will need for your room. With the advancement of modern technology, you are also able to control your heating temperature online through an app on your phone.

Radiator Position

When deciding upon your new radiator, there comes the question of where is it best placed? If you wish to keep it simple and place your new designer radiator in place of your old radiator, it will be much easier and cheaper to install as the pipework is already in place. Introducing new pipework for your radiator would increase the cost and difficulty of instillation.

Another thing to keep in mind is the location of any furniture’s you have in your living room. Any piece of furniture which is blocking or absorbing too much heat from the radiator will use more energy causing your energy bills to be higher, as you will need to heat your room for longer to ensure the room is warm. With energy prices constantly rising, it is important to position your radiator in the best place for your room.

What Size Radiator Do You Need?

The British Thermal Unit (BTU) is used to measure the amount of energy needed to heat the rooms in your home. When you need to work out your BTUs, you will need to consider a variety of aspects. For example, the direction your room faces will play a big part in whether your room is slightly colder, or slightly warmer than others. French windows are another example of something that can affect your BTU, as the double glazing and insulation lowers the amount of heat you will need for the room, therefore, your radiator would not need to emit as much heat.

It can be exceedingly difficult to work out the BTU required for a room, so we have created our BTU calculator to give you a simple and easy to use guide to give an accurate BTU rating so you can select the right radiator.

Radiator Sizes & Styles

Single panel

The Single panel Radiator performs at its best when you have a slightly smaller room. This is because the single panel radiator has a reduced surface area, resulting in less heat being emitted. They are fantastic for narrow or small rooms, and they will lay flat so will not stick out too far off the wall.

Double Panel

The Double panel radiator, commonly referred to as type 22 radiators, consists of two panels and a row of convector fins. By combining two panels on your radiator, you are able to emit more heat from it as it has a larger surface area. This means they may need slightly longer to heat up in comparison to electric or single panelled radiators, but it is able to reach much higher heats and therefore, is able to maintain a high temperature for longer. Double panelled radiators are best used in medium to larger sized rooms.

Horizontal Radiators

Both horizontal and vertical radiators produce the same amount of heat if they have the same dimensions. This means it is more about the design you would like in your home, and which better fits your space, than which one is more effective. Horizontal radiators are more traditionally used in comparison to vertical radiators, so if your home has a more classical style of décor, the horizontal radiator will suit your needs much better. However, they can take up quite a bit more room than a vertical radiator, so this may be something to consider.

Vertical Radiators

One of the most common designs at the moment is the vertical radiator. The more fashionable, sleek design can make your radiator a standout piece in your living room. However, if you do not have the pre-existing pipework in place for a vertical radiator, you will have to install the correct pipework which can become quite costly. Despite this, when you have the vertical radiator installed your living room will have much more space and you will have more freedom with your furniture placement, as there is not as much radiator space than can be blocked.

Column Radiators

The column radiator design is a very in demand design. It is a traditional style radiator which become a unique design feature in your room. Column radiators are very well suited to rooms with a high ceiling, as they have a larger surface area than most other radiators, so can emit more heat. However, they do take up a lot of space in comparison to the vertical, single panel radiators as they are fairly thick, so you will need to be prepared to have a bit of space taken up.

Heated Towel Racks

A heated towel rack does exactly what it says on the tin, it heats your towels. They are classic radiators that come with a multipurpose design, heating towels and your bathroom whilst saving space for more items. They can also be made to be dual fuel, so it uses electric as well as the standard fuel to save energy. However, they can be quite costly due to their heat production being less than a standard radiator, making them the least favourable radiator for your living room.

Panel infrared radiator

Infrared heating does not work in the same way that conventional heating works. It can produce an invisible energy wave used to heat the air. Infrared radiators can be very efficient when used alongside central heating systems.

We hope that this blog gives you some guidance and things to keep in mind whilst you are looking for the perfect radiator for your living room. Remember to consider all the possible factors you may need to keep in mind during the buying and installing process of your new radiator.