Skirting radiators

I haven't any experience of installing skirting radiator systems myself but being in the industry generally I have heard they are not the most efficient way of heating a home.

If you are looking for alternative ways of heating look at heated windows or glass radiators. They use radiant heat so are much more efficient than conventional heating systems.

I had underfloor heating put in down stairs, lounge, kitchen, conservatory, hall, down stairs loo!
I paid by direct debit for my electric, I was stupid enough not to check my heating bill. I was told every where I went that it was the cheapest form of heating.

A year later I was shocked to find, leaving the heating on low through out the day cost a lot! I was faced with a bill of £4,236 for the year.
I was so stupid to beleive it was cheaper, it cost me £750 to put in.

I am now paying £250.00 a month to pay it off, needless to say, I have disconnected the heating. I cannot afford to replace it so in the winter months sitting with a duvet.

I would not reccomend this as a cheaper option, quite the opposite.

I would think that under floor heating with water pipes would be the cheaper option if doing a self build, but I would check first.

Martin Wadsworth here, from DiscreteHeat manufacturers of the ThermaSkirt skirting board radiators as seen on Dragons Den.

I am pleased that the concept seems to be sparking debate, and that the idea is being taken seriously in high places.
This product is part of the Technology Strategy Boards "Retrofit for the Future" program, which aims to introduce energy efficient tecnologies into the existing housing stock.

The Goverenment aims to have 20% of our energy requiremenst met by renewables by 2020, which will be unatainable if only new houses embrace the latest energy efficient systems such as solar & heat pumps. Hence the push is on to get the 20+million homes already built up to higher levels of efficency and reduce the UKs reliance on fossil fuels.

Clearly, retro-fitting underfloor heating into an existing building is problematic, and "above ground" perimeter thermal skirting can provide the increased surface area to allow heat pumps and solar thermal to operate efficiently at lower flow temperatures, without resorting to obtrusive ´over sized´ or fan assisted radiators.

I can refer you to the independant test data from BSRIA which demonstrated at least a 13% improvement in efficiency when comparing thermal skirting to an equivalent radiator.
As a result, thermal skirting is highly likely to emerge as a product endorsed by the TSB and the Energy Saving Trust, and be part of the Governments´´Green Deal´ strategy.

Undefloor heating provides an even comfortable environment, and is well suited to new build with concrete floors that are to have hard surfaces such as marble and tiles. When the construction is timber, or the final floor finish is likley to be carpet or wood, the argument for is less convincing.

Peformance figures for UFH conveniently ignore the final floor finish which can reduce the "headline" output figure of 100w/m2 to a less impressive 65W/m2 under engineered wooden floors. The maximum surface temperature acheivable with tiles is 34degC (limited by EU regulation), the maximum surface temperature acheiveable with wood is 27degC, limited by physics.

Couple that with inherantly slow response times caused by thermal lag, and the wonderfully unpredictble temperate climate of the UK , and you can easily see why UFH as the sole provider of heat may not always be the best solution.

Thermal Skirting has inherantly low water content, low thermal mass and rapid response times. This can enable it to be on (and using energy) only when the house demands it. In many cases, where UFH is the preferred option downstairs due to large open spaces and floor finishes, thermal skirtng can provide a complimentary heating system upstairs that allows the whole house to heat up quickly(and just as importantly) cool down without the need for opening windows to acheive it.

The comments made about the FinRad product are reasonable, cosidering that older houses were poorly insulated and thus required more heat. The fins and grilles inside the FinRad type product provided the necesscary greater surface area to deliver that extra power per M, but at cost - bulky, drafty, ugly and often full of dust and dirt after only a few months.

Thermal skirting is a true radiant product, that does not rely on convection (air movement) to distribute the heat, and as such has no slots or fins and looks very much like traditional skirting. The fact that it delivers less power per M as a result, is no longer an issue as houses have significantly improved their insulation and require less energy to heat them. Providing that heat in a uniform, all around low level perimeter profile has been proven at BSRIA to provide a heating environment indistinguishable from UFH.

There have been over 8,000 thermal skirting systems installed in the UK in the last 4 years, and the likelihood is that there will be many more over the next 4 years as the drive to reduce the CO2 footprint of the UK gathers pace, and retro fitting energy efficient heat sources such as heat pumps and solar becomes the norm.

Our cousins in Europe seem to have less resistance to the concept, and thermal skirting sytems are being specified on several major projects in Berlin, Bonn & Amsterdam, including several schools and a hospital (its already been proven in the NHS to reduce the transmission of C Difficile and MRSA where its being fitted).

I do hope that people review the concept with an open mind, and do not secumb to the tempatation to damm it out of hand before the facts are understood and appreciated.

Sincerely

Martin Wadsworth

I will agree with Martin.Greater surface area with underfloor?.Not really.If the walls are heated surface temperature of the wall surfaces will be in the region of around 25C.This will ultimately radiate heat from all wall surfaces.The arguement of losing heat from walls is unreal.Heat will follow its least line of resistance, I believe through lots of research and various degrees that radiant heat is quite exceptional.Underfloor is uncontrollable, therefore if uncontrollable then its inefficient.If the heating system system can be controlled exactly and the location of heat energy dispersed evenly then we have a winner.