Radiators on but house feels nippy!

[TheOpalFox]

Anyone else? Have you seen them radiator heat boosters? They sit on top of the radiator and blow hot air into the room? My radiators are on quite high but my house is draughty!!!! Thanks

I bought one a few years back, it was a waste of money if I'm honest. It didn't make a scrap of difference.

in my thinking, any "blowing" of any existing air is more likely going to result in a reduction of heat rather than an increase.

Can your radiators be more productive? Are they as large as could be or double radiators as opposed to single?

Do you radiators need bleeding?

Can't you block some of the draughts as that will make huge difference?

If your house is draughty, focus on stopping the draughts? Stuff like lined curtains, draught-excluder at the bottom of your front door etc?

1 (more likely)
If they're cold at the top, that'll be air and they'll need bleeding. Ensure you top off your boiler pressure afterwards.

2 (far less likely)
If they're cold at the bottom, that'll be sludge from years of corrosion. The radiator will need bleeding down, removing and then taking outside to be blasted through with a hose.

I've never heard of radiator heat boosters until now.

Agree with above posters, check radiators don't need bleeding, make sure they have decent airflow around them, so no furniture or airers in the way, and block draughts as much as you can.

Our side room has the small fanlight window permanently ajar (just enough to let a cable through) and even this crack can cause a draught. I keep that door shut most of the time, with a draught excluder in front of it. I can tell on chillier days if that door has been left open.

Yes, we’ve just added a side extension to our Victorian house, so have removed two windows as part of the wall removal, and built a new hall enclosing what was formerly the original front door. Even without having any heating on in the new part of the house, the entire downstairs is noticeably warmer — it’s made me realise how draughty those windows and door must have been.

Swap them for doubles if they are single.

There are three (common) types of radiators, single panel (type 11) which has one panel and one set of fins, double panel (type 21) which has two panels and one set of fins and double panel (type 22) which has two panels and two sets of fins. Of course there are also fancy pants column radiators but these cost a fortune.

Most boilers are overpowered anyway, so adding extra heating panels in does not cause an issue.

The type 22s are a bit fat compared with the types 11 and 21 and stick out into the room a bit so worth bearing in mind if you lack space. 21 is probably the best compromise for space and power as the double panel does not add much to the thckness.

And as other people say, make sure they are bled, free from gunk and properly balanced to get max heat/efficiency. Failing that consider turning the boiler temp up a notch. But not so high that the return water will not condense.

It's basically a fan that goes on top of the radiator.

It doesn't actually boost the heat as in increase it, just distributes it round the room more. For the price of them you are probably better off getting your radiators upgraded. Plus of course they can use a fair bit of electric.

Make sure your radiators have been bled - it makes a huge difference. Also keep doors closed and make sure any draughts around windows and doors are sealed (you can get stick on rubber seal strips).

Wear a few layers.

This has been a useful thread - it's reminded me that most of the vents above the windows are still open from the summer. I swooped in to DH as soon as he ended his zoom call and dispatched him round the house to close the open ones. (I am not incapable, just short).

Thank you 👍

The gunk thing is a real possibility of being a problem. My DH replaced radiators at his parents because a power wash didn't shift it. Narrow bore pipes didn't help.
You might want thermostatic valves too.

Absolute waste of money.

Foil behind the rads will stop 10% of room heat going through exterior walls.
Make sure TRVs aren’t covered by anything.
Make sure room stat isn’t fighting with TRV ( it needs to be on max in that room.
DO NOT turn off radiators in non used rooms.
You can buy squidgy tape for any draughts around windows or doors.

Look at boiler heating flow temp, for a combi it should be as low as possible, ideally 50-55° but you can tweak it according to the weather, if it needs more than 65° then you have undersized rads or a real problem with insulation.
Our boiler manages to keep the house warm at 52°, even at minus 10 outside.