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| Radiators: Critical Components for your Domestic Central Heating |
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| Written by Tal Potishman |
| Saturday, 13 September 2008 10:12 |
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Using a simple illustration from the motor car world, one can refer to the boiler as the engine of the central heating system. Subsequently, the radiators are the wheels that transfer the energy to the road, and helping the system deliver its potential. Radiators make a major difference to the effectiveness and performance of a domestic central heating system through their design, location and size. Quite often it is the boiler which is the focus when discussing your domestic heating needs. However, the heat that is generated by the boiler has to pass through the radiators to ensure it actually radiates out into the living space in the most effective way. You may find this as a surprise in our modern day that those stainless steel racks and sleek radiators now offered by leading UK suppliers actually date back to the 19th century. Patented by a German engineer in 1855, the radiator has largely remained unchanged in its basic concept. If you ignore the external fashionable designs, all radiators are basically a flat metal hollow case, shaped as a box (sometimes with fins to improve the heat emissions) and attached to the wall in order to radiate heat into the room. In the UK, most heating radiators are made of sheet metal and have additional fins attached to them for better heat emission. Hot water (or other heat transferring medium) is pumped through the radiator (often coming in at the top of the radiator) and is gradually losing its heat to the surrounding ambiance. Once the water loses its heat it drops by gravity and comes out of the egress valve (normally at the bottom). As the air around the radiator heats up, its rises to the top of the room, creating a convection effect and drawing colder air closer to the radiator to continue the heating cycle. Radiators, though tried and tested over many years, still suffer from typical problems from time to time. One of the most common problems is the air pockets that develop within them. These small pockets can be a result of tiny bubbles of air creeping into the sealed central heating system through tiny cracks. Professional central heating installers minimise the risk of such cracks by using compression fittings or other solution to ensure the connection points are free from potential cracks. Other reasons for such air pockets can be a result of chemical reaction that occurs within the closed environment. If such gases (e.g. Hydrogen) are trapped within the central heating loop, it normally remains at the top of the radiator preventing the water from getting there and using the full area of the radiator for heating. In such case it is recommended to 'bleed' the radiator from a bleeding screw at the top of the radiator. Radiators on upper floors tend to have more air pockets locked in them, due to the air's natural inclination to rise to the upper-most point of the loop. As such, top floor radiators will require more frequent bleeding. A different problem that can reduce the performance of your radiators is debris and sludge build up within the radiator and the central heating closed loop. This sludge, which can come from a reaction between the hot water and the metal components, clogs up the pipes and can make large parts of the system in-effective. Most boiler manufacturers these days require the heating engineer installing the central heating system to power flush the central heating loop prior to commissioning. This ensures the system is clean from any debris that might have accumulated during the years (for example inner corrosion in older systems). Furthermore, most engineers recommend adding a corrosion inhibitor chemical into the closed loop circulating water, to inhibit production of corrosive gases and deposits. About the Author: Tal Potishman is editor of Heating Central, which publishes articles about UK boilers, plumbers, unvented systems and solar thermal systems. He focuses on helping save costs and the planet by consulting on high-efficiency central heating. Kindly provided by MoneyHunter.org You are welcome to use this article on your own website, if you include the link just before this text. |
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