Stelrad said it is joining with other members of the Manufacturers Association of Radiators and Convectors (MARC) to draw attention to the role radiators have to play in heating the UK to celebrate National Radiator Day on 1 November.
According to a statement, with more low temperature heating systems such as heat pumps being installed, heating engineers and installers have an “increasingly important” role to play ensuring their customer’s radiators are right for each job they do.
The statement said the shift in the way homes are heated from gas boilers to lower temperature heat pump systems, means heating engineers and installers need to advise their customers that they need to prevent heat loss from their homes by fitting energy saving measures, such as loft insulation, double glazing or cavity wall insulation before installing a heat pump.
This means that their radiator, even while still on a gas boiler heating system, can be run at a lower temperature and are more energy and cost efficient, it noted. If they are not yet in a position to move to a heat pump, their heating system is future proofed and ready, the statement added.
In order for the correctly sized radiators to be installed, the heating engineer or installer must first complete room by room heat loss calculations to establish what outputs are required, it said. Their customers can decide whether to upgrade their complete system or invest over time to increase the system efficiency.
When carrying out the heat calculations for a heat pump installation, the statement said it may be that the existing radiators need to be replaced with larger ones to provide the required comfort levels at a lower flow temperature.
The statement added that although radiator manufacturers have a legal responsibility for radiators to be CE marked, there are still many radiators on the market that don’t provide the correct heat outputs.
It is a requirement of the law for radiators and convectors installed in heating systems in buildings to conform to the European Standard BS-EN442. Products that conform will have a CE mark.
Stelrad said that members of MARC are committed to providing products that are CE marked and include the correct heat output for all the products they advertise. Their details and those of their products can be found on the MARC website.