Why, Where and When should I fit Radiator Reflector Panels?

Why should I fit Radiator Insulation Panels?

The biggest source of heat loss is through the wall. The real problem is that radiators are 2 sided, but we only want heat from one side to go into the room. Radiator insulation Panels deal with the heat from the back of the radiator which is normally largely wasted. Radiator insulation panels improve the efficiency of the heating system by about 20%, mainly because the water in the system stays much hotter with the insulation Panels fitted and so the boiler doesn’t fire up so often.

Where should I fit the Panels?

The  Panels should be fitted behind every radiator, even those on internal walls. The radiator insulation Panels don’t just stop heat loss through the wall (if that’s all they did, you wouldn’t need them on cavity-filled or internal walls), they return normally wasted heat from the back into the system, raising the return water temperature by 2 degrees centigrade. They are absolutely invaluable for cottages and pre- 1920 houses with solid walls.

When should I fit the insulation  Panels?

Because they pay for themselves so quickly (6 months) and save you about £100 per year, the sooner you fit the radiator insulation panels the better! A particularly efficient time to fit them is during the spring or summer when your heating’s not on: not only are they easier to install when the radiator isn’t hot, but your heating bills are lower and it’s even easier to afford the £50 investment!

Read more about saving monay on heating….

House heating tips – Top 5 money saving

We have complied a list of the top 5 house heating tips. Four of the best energy saving products are DIY only one definitely needs professional installation.

Cavity Wall Insulation -House heating tip No.5

Houses built after the 1920’s were all built with a cavity in the outside walls of the house; until recently these were not filled or insulated as part of the building process. This needs professional installation.

Average installation costs are about £300 and you should save over £100 on heating a year; this is a 3 year payback.*

Loft Insulation -House heating tip No. 4

Again, most houses have had their lofts filled these days, but it’s certainly worth considering increasing the depth of the insulation as it’s an easy DIY job. Most houses have it to a depth of 100mm; the recommended depth today is 275 mm.

Average DIY cost of the additional 170mm would be about £150 and you would save an additional £25 on heating per year which would be a 6 year payback.*

Draught Proofing -House heating tip No.3

Depending on the age of the house and the condition of the windows, this is comfortably a DIY job. However, if your house is older and the windows are single glazed, it is worth considering getting the draught stripping fitted professionally.

Average DIY cost would be about £120 and you should save around £55 per year producing a 2 year payback.*

Hot Water Cylinder Jacket -tip No.02

Again most houses have cylinder jackets fitted but the thickness and quality of the jackets has increased recently; if yours is old, it’s definitely worth replacing it.

Average cost is £15 and annual savings should be about £40 producing a sub-6 month payback.

Radiator reflector Panels- Tip No. 1

There are fantastic saving opportunities with Radiator reflector Panels which are installed on the wall behind the radiators even if you already have cavity wall insulation. If you have solid walls they are a must! They are quite new to the market and have been mainly fitted as part of government insulation schemes. They are now available to the domestic householder.

Average DIY installation cost is £50 and average savings would be £90-100 producing a payback period of just over 6 months.

Check out our range of radiator reflector panels.

These house heating tips are sourced from, so its advice you can trust.

* Source: Energy Savings Trust

cold spell uk 2012

The cold spell in the uk for 2012, looks set to continue for another week with this weekend looking even colder.

The cold weather looks set to hold for at least another week:

Friday 10/2/12
A bitterly cold day again for Friday across England and Wales with a ridge of high pressure staying in-situ. This brings variable cloud and only a few bright spells. There is a risk of an odd snow flurry too. Further north and west conditions are likely to be cloudier but slightly milder with the chance of some drizzle. Highs will be to just 0C over much of England and Wales, 4C in west Wales and Ireland.

Saturday 11/2/12
Pressure remains high through the country on Saturday. This is going to be maintaining the cold weather for most, and it should be dry too. Weak fronts will be drifting into the west of Scotland and Ireland, these producing some outbreaks of light rain or drizzle. It could be fairly foggy in the south too. Highs at -1 to 3C.

Sunday 12/2/12
Similar conditions for Sunday with high pressure in control of conditions. It is going to be remaining dry and cold for all parts of the country, although there is a risk of some widespread mist and fog. Variable cloud amounts and staying very cold too. It is likely to be a slightly milder day at 2 to 5C.

Monday 13/2/12
High pressure is expected to remain over the country through Monday. This is going to be bringing dry conditions to much of England and Wales. However, there will be increased cloud in Scotland as front drift south. Highs at a cold 2C in the far south of England, but more typically 5 to 7C.

Tuesday 14/2/12
Pressure stays high over southern areas through Tuesday. This brings a further dry day with some sunny spells. Some cloud and outbreaks of rain affect northern Scotland. Highs will be to between 4 and 8C.

Wednesday 15/2/12
There is the threat of a spell of wintry weather affecting more eastern and southern parts of the country through Wednesday, although the west should be dry. Highs at 2 to 7C.

For more information check out:

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/cgi-app/reports?LANG=en&MENU=203&FILE=awa&DAY=20120207

My heating system is finaly green now!

As a family we are really conscientious in recycling and are generally pretty environmentally friendly, but we’ve had a problem that I’ve thought was impossible to solve since we moved into our house about 8 years ago. We live in a lovely thatched cottage and the problem is that the walls are solid, so we can’t have cavity wall insulation because there are no cavities! And external wall insulation is too expensive.
I know so much heat goes out of the wall from behind the radiators, but I didn’t think we could do anything about it until a mate of mine told me about Ecologic Radiator Reflector Panels. They’re brilliant; you just stick them on the wall behind the rads and you don’t even have to take the rads off the wall either. It took me the morning to do the whole house.
We’re definitely using much less oil; the Panels really have made a noticeable difference not just in fuel usage but also in warmth…we’ve turned the room thermostat down by 2 degrees and it’s still a wonderfully warm house. I really would recommend them, they’re best environmental thing we’ve done!

Richard M. York

How I saved 20% on my heating bill

I bought a pack of Ecologic Radiator reflector panels in September 2010 and installed them behind all 8 of the radiators in our house. The first radiator took about 20 minutes and then once I’d got the hang of it, the others only took about 10-15 minutes each, so I got the job done in about 2 hours; and the great thing was I didn’t even have to take the radiators off the wall.

I did the downstairs first and my wife noticed it was warmer in the sitting room where she was reading the paper within about 20 minutes of me finishing the radiator. Amazing! And the whole house definitely feels warmer now. But the really great thing is that I checked back on our bills and we used 21% less gas than last year and it was pretty cold winter too. So I reckon we got the £50 cost of the panels back in about 6 months. Not only that we’ve dramatically improved our carbon footprint too! And it was so easy and so cheap…best DIY job I’ve done in years.

Mike S. Watford

Green radiators get social

Its 2012, we’ve been holding out to see if twitter and facebook catch on. It looks like they are just starting to so we thought it was time to get social.

Our radiator reflector panels will turn any normal radiator into a green radiator by helping them save between 15 & 25% of heat. By first ensuring the heat isn’t wasted through the ball and second by reflecting it into the home and helping to better circulate the heat.

Please help us spread the word by following us on Twitter and Facebook:

New site launch

Ecologic has been bringing radiator panels to the consumer for over 15 years and we are now pleased to announce our new site launch. Previously our product was mainly sold to large operations like BT and Barclays and our panels have been saving them thousands of pounds.

We are now focusing our providing direct to homes.

Our mission – To help the environment and reduce the energy wasted on heating the external walls of homes throughout the UK.

The benefits of the Ecologic radiator panel

• Saves you money – Cuts 15% on heating bills minimum (per radiator)
• You can help the environment
• Warmer home – Heat is reflected and circulated around each room Read more