What does radiator foil do?
Your radiator radiates heat both into the room, and into the wall behind it. That heat can simply be lost to the outside, especially if you have thin single skin walls. Reflectors are installed behind the radiator and help prevent that heat from being lost by reflecting the heat back into the room.
Should all radiators be fitted with radiator reflective foil?
The best radiators to fit radiator foil behind are ones on external walls. Internal walls are not heat loss walls, and therefore you won’t save any heat by installing reflectors there. Party walls between properties normally don’t need reflectors either, unless your next door neighbours don’t heat the house, or there is no one living there. The type of radiator itself is usually unimportant, as reflectors will work with almost any radiator, as long as there is a space to fit the reflector in behind it.
How much difference do radiator reflectors make?
On external solid walls that have no insulation, having radiator reflectors can save over £4 per radiator per year. It really does pay to have radiator reflectors! If you have 5 radiators on exposed walls in your property, you could be looking at savings of about £20 a year. Even in a well insulated property, you would save around £5 a year.
How do you fit Radiator Reflective Foil?
- Cut the foil to the size required to fit behind the radiator.
- Cut slits in the foil, in line with the radiator brackets if required.
- Position the sticky pads in each corner of the dull side of the foil.
- Slide the foil behind the radiator and apply firm pressure to the pads to stick the foil to the wall.
