Blog>Questions>How do I make radiators hotter?
Last updated: 30 September 2024
How do I make radiators hotter?
Struggling to get your home toasty, even with the central heating on full blast? Here's how to make your radiators hotter.
Why are my radiators not getting hot enough?
Here are a few reasons why your radiators might not be getting hot enough:
Dust or debris
Air pockets
Unbalanced system
Radiator valve issues
Sludge
Limescale
How to make a radiator hotter
Luckily, there are several steps you can take to improve heat from your radiators:
1. Clean them regularly
Dust can create a layer of insulation around your radiator, lowering its performance.
Meanwhile, dirt and debris can obstruct your radiator’s vanes.
With that in mind, regularly cleaning your radiators can help you to get more heat from them.
2. Bleed your radiators
If your radiator is cold at the top but hot at the bottom, this often means there’s air trapped inside, which can block the flow of water.
Bleeding your radiator will release the trapped air so that your radiator can heat up effectively again.
3. Balance your system
If your upstairs radiators are hotter than your downstairs ones – or the radiator closest to your boiler is the hottest – your system might need balancing.
Adjusting the valves on each radiator can help to make sure that heat is distributed more equally through your home and make all radiators hot.
4. Remove radiator sludge
If your radiator is hot at the top but cold at the bottom, it could be due to a build-up of sludge.
The best way to clear sludge is with a power flush.
A plumber or heating engineer can perform a power flush on your heating system to dislodge and clear sludge and limescale.
A power flush involves pumping chemicals through your heating system at high pressure. Often, an engineer will then add an inhibitor to the system to prevent sludge from forming in the future.
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How to make radiators more efficient
There doesn’t need to be an issue with your radiators or heating system for you to take action.
Making your radiators more efficient can improve your level of comfort at home and lower your energy bills too!
Here are some tips:
1. Remove clutter
First, remove any objects you’ve placed on top of or under your radiators.
When a radiator heats up, cold air is drawn up at the bottom and rises out warm at the top. Any objects will likely interfere with this process and reduce your radiators’ efficiency.
2. Add radiator fans
Radiator fans are small electric fans that sit on radiators and help distribute heat evenly throughout the room.
They’re easy to buy and install yourself. However, if you prefer, you can also get fan assisted radiators which have built-in fans and need to be installed by a professional.
3. Use reflectors
If your radiators are fixed on exterior walls, you’ll be losing some of the heat they emit through the walls of your property.
A radiator reflector is a sheet of reflective material that’s placed between your radiator and the wall to bounce any heat that would otherwise be lost back into the room.
See the tradespeople we've checked and recommend for your job
See the tradespeople we've checked and recommend for your job