How to make radiators more efficient

With the cost of living crisis affecting all of us in one way or another, it's fair to say that everyone in the UK is keeping a much closer eye on their monthly spending habits. 

Despite government schemes to lessen the effects of rising wholesale oil and gas prices, our energy bills have risen to astronomical highs in recent times, leaving many of us in search of ways to make our homes more efficient.

Now, you'll be happy to hear that you don't need to look as far as you might think in order to improve the energy efficiency of your house, flat, or bungalow. With the majority of modern central heating systems relying on radiators to carry heat around a home, some simple upgrades can make a world of difference.

In this guide, we'll walk you through some of the DIY fixes that can reduce the amount of energy lost through your home's radiators and, in turn, help to keep your bills lower. Don't worry, none of these tips are too time and energy-consuming. There are things you can do to increase your radiator performance within minutes.

What causes radiators to lose efficiency?

There are a number of reasons a radiator can lose efficiency, from neglect to more general issues that simply happen over time. Like most frequently used appliances, a radiator needs checking  every once in a while.

How to make radiators more efficient

1. Clean your radiators

This one may seem a little odd, but you'd be surprised by how much difference giving your radiators a bit of a spring clean can make to their energy efficiency.

Depending on the type of radiator you have, dust buildup can affect how cold air flows through it, which in turn, can affect radiators and how much hot air you get out of them. If you're struggling to get through to some of the tougher-to-reach parts of the radiator, try using a hairdryer to push any dust buildup through.

Dust builds up fast, and as hot air rises in your home, it can get deep into awkward places in no time. Be sure to clean your radiators as often as you would clean any other part of your home to help tackle this!

2. Power flush the system 

This process involves paying a qualified professional to drain your system by attaching a large pump to it and flushing the system out using the large pump and water pressure to force out any build-up of sludge or magnetite. Once this is completed, you will get a better performance all round from your system, especially if your radiators or pipework are partially restricted. 

3. Bleed your radiators

If your radiator is feeling warm at the bottom and cooler at the top, the chances are it needs to be bled. You can follow our step-by-step guide to bleeding radiators to make sure this is done properly.

However, just because one radiator needs to be bled, it does not mean you should do all of them, bleeding all of the radiators in your home can actually do more harm than good.

If you bleed a radiator with no trapped air inside, you risk your boiler pressure dropping too low and your whole central heating system failing. Trust us, you do not want this to happen.

4. Keep an eye on your boiler pressure gauge

If you feel like your radiators are underperforming, it makes sense to track back to the source of your central heating system.

Boilers are pretty helpful, in the sense that the pressure gauge is often colour-coordinated. So, if you take a look at the boiler, you can see the little dial, the dial should be in the green zone, often between 1 and 2.

If the boiler pressure is lower than this, your system isn't operating properly. In this case, you'll have to look into potentially bleeding your radiators and re-pressuring your boiler.

5. Don't cover your radiators

This is the cheapest and fastest way to up your radiator's performance.

Although this one is largely considered common sense, it's worth checking if you're looking to get the most out of your radiator.

Remove any objects on them or underneath them, whether that's clothes or furniture sitting too close. The reason to do this is that radiators work on the principle that warm air rises by natural convection. Cold air is drawn up the radiator at the bottom and rises out warm at the top. 

Any objects placed on or under the surface area of the radiator will almost certainly interfere with this process, so be sure to keep your radiators clutter-free. 

We know putting clothes on the radiator seems like a quick fix to get them dry quickly. In reality, you’re wasting valuable energy and creating a safety hazard.

6. Use radiator reflectors

For radiators fixed onto external walls, it can benefit to buy some reflectors to prevent heat loss to the outside world.

These work because when a radiator is fixed to an external wall, especially under a window, it exudes heat from the front and the back. In turn, you could be losing around 50% of your heat from the radiator to the external wall, which is not ideal.

These reflectors, placed in the space between the wall and the radiator can push the hot air back into your home, preventing you from wasting energy in places where you don't need to.

You can buy radiator reflector foil online for as little cost as £6 per roll, making it well worth the investment.

Need more help with your radiators?

If you've followed all of these steps and are still having trouble with your radiator efficiency, it's worth getting in touch with one of our experts to see what we can do to help.

More often than not, an engineer can identify any problems and then give the proper advice to solve the issue. You may require a replacement, which will feel unfortunate at the time but save you money in the long run.

If you think there's something wrong that you can't fix, speak to our team as soon as possible.