Rads and heat pumps

“Radiators DO work with low temperature systems”

Below: With three panels and three fins, these K3 radiators have the same radiator footprint but with 50% additional metal surface to provide increased heat levels.

Leading radiator manufacturer Stelrad is seeing its radiators being specified more and more for renewable heating systems as the popularity of heat pumps continues to rise. Radiators are still a popular and sensible choice as homeowners are familiar with how they heat their homes. When properly sized, they are the perfect solution to share heat from heat pump installations.

So as these low temperature systems increase in popularity, Stelrad is keen to set the record straight when it comes to some of the misconceptions currently circulating about radiator sizing and compatibility versus the alternative options.

Stelrad’s Head of Marketing, Chris Harvey, says: “Radiators work in very different ways to alternative heating choices, but they do a similar job, each with benefits, depending on the circumstances. We want to put the facts out there for installers and homeowners to choose for themselves, without being bamboozled into thinking there is only one option.

“All radiators should be sized correctly for the rooms they are installed in and we offer a free radiator sizing and heat loss calculator on our website. You will require larger radiators for a renewable, low temperature system than you would for a traditional boiler- driven heating system because the water flow temperature in the system is lower. But that can mean a larger radiator, possibly a vertical radiator or one of our increasingly-popular K3 radiators – with three panels and three fins. These have the same radiator footprint for a room as a current K2 radiator, but with 50% additional metal surface to provide increased heat levels.”

Stelrad has invested in developing its range of radiators to ensure it can offer radiators that provide sufficient heat from renewable heating systems. That it has succeeded is evidenced by the high number of new-build developers that have stuck with radiators as their key form of heat emitter, and there are many case studies to show how effectively this works.

Stelrad has also developed a specialist CPD to provide facts and figures, along with evidence-based information, to help installers and specifiers choose the right products for their installations. “We’re suggesting that installers should rely on hard facts and figures, rather than misleading statements that are currently circulating in the heating sector,” concludes Harvey.

See also “Fit for the Future” at www.stelrad.com to find out more about radiators partnering with heat pumps. T: 0844 543 6200; E: marketing@stelrad.com

Alternatively, see regular updates from Stelrad on Twitter @Stelrad and Facebook @StelradRadiators.

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