Is it worth upgrading radiators in a 70s bungalow?

davidod1

Hi Folks,

I was looking for advice on whether you will get a return on upgrading 1970s iron radiators for modern aluminium ones.

It was suggested to me that by replacing them I would get more heat (better radiation) at less cost due to there being much less water circulating in the system.

There are about fourteen radiators in the house and most of those are double panel. Five of the double panel ones are 2.4M (8ft) long and 500mm high. I upgraded the boiler a couple of years ago to a condenser boiler.

The ceilings are 9ft and all the external walls are dry lined. All the windows are double glazed.

Any advice on any areas that might help improve efficiency would be appreciated.

Dave

Yakuza

A quick fix might be to put in thermostatic valves so you can turn rads off in rooms you're not using (or keep them on at a lower temp just to stop damp forming). I got this done to my old rads (the old ones that weren't replaced in jobs I did to the house after moving in), it took about a half day.
Most of my downstairs is heated via under floor heating which I got done in 2009 (a big job but well worth it)

allycavs

I was in a similar situation. I replaced all my downstairs rads for double finned new ones and havent looked back sine. I couldn't heat my down stairs at all. hallway freezing, living room you would have to stay next to rad when cold. Now no matter how cold it is outside the living room can easily get to hot with in 30 mins and the hall way - you can even feel the heat when walking up and down the stairs.

the plumber told me i could go for cheaper rads but said you get what you pay for so I went with the better brand he recommended. totally worth it

davidod1

allycavs wrote: »

The plumber told me i could go for cheaper rads but said you get what you pay for so I went with the better brand he recommended. totally worth it

Thanks for that info. What brand was the good one that you did the job for you? AND are they made to measure up with the originals or do you need to amend the pipework to fit the new ones?

allycavs

Ill get name for you. But was one of the popluar brands anyway. rads are made come in standard sizes you should find ones close to sizes of originals. PLumber will prob cut some pipes or can add on extenders to make up any differences in size.

Wearb

What would you think about asking if it would be better not to have your system setup to run in condensing mode. Those radiators would be sized to run hotter than would be required for a condensing setup.

Having said that, if they were properly sized in the first place, they will now be oversized, after your double glazing and dry lining. So you may get away with using them at a lower temp.

Did you have a power flush and inhibitor added when installing your new boiler. Also was there a magnetic filter fitted.

My real point is that I think that you should be able to achieve the heat you need without any change in rads. Assuming that your system isn't all gunked up.

Walter Becket

more heat (better radiation) at less cost

Sounds like something a sales man would say. My understanding is more heat means more fuel was burnt. A radiators job is to get heat from water and put it in the air. Improving the efficency of the radiators means it takes more heat from the water and puts it in the air. Aluminium rads. will do this but that means the boiler will be burning more fuel. This type of improvement in efficiency won't save you money unless you're using electric heaters at the moment because the rads cannot heat the rooms enough. Where Aluminium rads. are a good choice is when using a heat pump because heat pumps run a good bit more efficiently at lower temperatures. There is a limit to how low you can turn your condensing oil boiler down to because it must not be condensing in the iron heat exchanger. Also it really should be producing water at 70 C to get the demostic hot water to above 60 C. Modern steel radiators have a low water content they also have metal finns your 1970s rads. Probably don't have the finns increase the heat output by about 30%.

davidod1

Wearb wrote: »

Did you have a power flush and inhibitor added when installing your new boiler. Also was there a magnetic filter fitted.

AFIK there was no power flush done, however there is a magnetic filter that I check every six months or so. There is usually a couple of millimetres of sludge on it that cleans off very easily.

I was assuming that the smaller amount of water in the system together with thermostatic valves and improved radiation would give more heat for less expense.

Walter Becket

I was assuming that the smaller amount of water in the system together with thermostatic valves and improved radiation would give more heat for less expense.[/quote]

Thermostat valves will definitely save you money. Power flushing and good balanceing of the system will almost certainly improve the heat output of the rads. I have power flushed some 1970s systems and the improvement is often dramatic. Btw boiler manufacturers require that the system is power flushed to honour the guarantee.

Wearb

davidod1 wrote: »

AFIK there was no power flush done, however there is a magnetic filter that I check every six months or so. There is usually a couple of millimetres of sludge on it that cleans off very easily.

I was assuming that the smaller amount of water in the system together with thermostatic valves and improved radiation would give more heat for less expense.

Are all your rads hot both on top and bottom, especially bottom centre.

If you get more heat from them, then it's going to cost more to provide that heat.

Rads with fins do radiate heat more effectively, but the boiler has to burn more fuel to produce this heat.

Eg, suppose one of your rads was partially clogged, then the heat output from this rad would be reduced, with a corosponding reduction in the fuel used to heat it. (If you were to cover your rads with duvets, you would see the same reduction in heat output and reduction in fuel use) Now suppose you cleared this partially clogged rad; you would see an improvement in heat output and also an increase in fuel usage to supply this extra output.

davidod1

I have to say that all the rads are noticeably more hot than they ever were with the old boiler despite it being set to just above minimum temperature.

In all fairness I'm not unhappy with the overall temperature, it's just that I was hoping to reduce the costs and perhaps get greater efficiency.

All in all it looks like I just leave all very well alone.