Choosing a radiator can be a little bit bewildering. They’re deceptively simple devices. Until you decide that you need a replacement, you might spend very little time thinking about BTUs and thermostatic valves.
To make things more complicated, you’ll need different sorts of radiators for different rooms. A living room or home office, where you want to be comfortable, must be made slightly warmer than a hallway, after all.
But what about children’s bedrooms? Let’s take a look at a few things to consider when you’re shopping for this part of the house.
Size of the Room
The larger the room, the more energy it’ll need to heat the space. You’ll find energy calculators on most online radiator stores – but beware, because they’ll often try to sell you more radiator than you really need. In a bedroom, you probably don’t need as much power as you think. For one thing, they’re usually upstairs, and thus the heat from below will naturally make its way up to the bedroom.
For another thing, we don’t need much heat while we’re asleep. We’re adapted to deal with slightly cooler temperatures at night, so keeping things in the range of 16-18 degrees is appropriate.
Energy efficiency
The efficiency of a radiator can be degraded over time by trapped air and sludge. You can deal with this by regularly flushing and bleeding them. Certain designs are naturally more resistant to this, as they have chunkier tubes that aren’t so easily blocked. Electric radiators avoid these problems; they’re 100% efficient!
Safety
In a child’s bedroom, the presence of a hot metal object can be a concern. Set the valve so that the radiator doesn’t reach the highest temperature, or cover it with a decorative cover.
Material
Different materials have different thermal properties. Aluminium tends to conduct heat very effectively, and consequently it’s ideal for rooms that need to be heated at a moment’s notice. Since a bedroom will get regular use, steel and iron might work just as well.
Style
The way that a radiator looks matters a great deal. After all, they’re taking up a considerable amount of wall space, and you and your child are going to have to spend a lot of time looking at them. Moreover, the visual appeal of your radiator will make it easier to sell the house. The right radiator can be a feature, rather than an aesthetic blight.