Is it worth swapping single for double radiators?

[ramsamsam]

I live in a Victorian house and all the rooms have single radiators. As Winter is coming I was thinking of replacing our single radiators for double ones. But is it worth it? Has anyone done this before?

It’s only worth it if you need to get more heat into the room.

Do your radiators currently warm the rooms sufficiently? Have you calculated the required BTU for each room. That'll tell you what radiators are needed.

It is too cold in our front room but I definitely haven't calculated the required BTU! I wouldn't know where to start.

There's some calculators online where you input the size of the room and it works it out for you - that's what we did, and switching to double panels has definitely helped! (With warmth, can't tell what it's done to the bills yet!)

Just pop the details into something like this:
www.radiators4u.co.uk/btu-calculator/?gclid=CjwKCAjw8JKbBhBYEiwAs3sxN9lBMkefZwPOrLaSwiE6w1c7gAE5-dCysBtVHQcErLSOjZyC2-EenxoCMtwQAvD_BwE

It'll tell you what you need numbers wise, then look at the radiators you fancy and see whether they are suitable for what you need in each room.

And also make sure your boiler is powerful enough to cope

GetOffTheRoof Thank you very much!

We are in a Victorian house, all double radiators, it's cosy when I have them turned on. Sadly too scared to at the moment!

I also live in old Victorian house and did exactly this for the passage, kitchen and 1 bedroom. Instantly made a difference. Didn't do any fancy calculations but know that house feels warmer faster for longer which means can reduce thermostat and have heating on for shorter periods.

An average domestic gas or oil boiler will easily cope unless you live in a vast (more than five bedrooms) old, draughty house.

If your front room is cold, have you checked the windows for draft? You might be better spending the money on secondary glazing.

A BTU calculation isn't fancy, it's a basic check any plumber should do for you if you approached them for new radiators and is something people should be told more about when looking at a new radiator. Otherwise, you might put some inappropriate tiny or enormous radiator into a room and waste your money.

Fair enough. I simply replaced the single with a double. Same size, just double. Does the job nicely.