The science version

How The Ecologic Panel Works

The prime functions of the Ecologic Panel are to drastically reduce the heat that is transferred from the back of a (central heating system) radiator to the wall on which it is mounted and then lost to the atmosphere outside, and to improve the comfort level in the space the radiator serves.

Principles:  1. Insulation/Thermal Resistance

When the Ecologic Panel is attached to the wall, air is trapped in the profiled cavities between the Panel and the wall.  As still/stagnant air is an excellent thermal insulator (indeed the basis of most insulation) the air pockets resist the transmission of radiated heat that would pass from the radiator into the wall of the structure.  In the normal heating system once the heat is in the wall it travels by conduction and outside the building. Excessive heat transferred to internal walls does not effectively heat the space of a room.

2. Reflectivity/Emissivity

The polished smooth surface of the Ecologic Panel has an essential effect on the Panel’s efficiency.  It is the surface finish and metalised content that resists heat flow and returns heat into the internal room space and radiator.

3. Active Insulation

The profile of the Ecologic Panel is designed to further reduce radiated heat.  The “saw-tooth” profile causes the air to swirl, creating turbulence and slowing down the upward movement against the Panel surface. The air hugs the profile and creates pockets of slow and dense air.  Both slow air and air of increased density resist heat transfer, forming a further thermal barrier. Further convectional heat coming from the radiator is caught up in the turbulence and is carried out into the room.

The combined result of reflectivity and active insulation is that virtually no heat (whether radiant or convection) gets past the Panel into the wall and almost all of the heat from the back of the radiator is returned to the radiator or into the room.

4. Convection

The air along the face of the Panel slows down, although the total volume of moving air is a constant; the air along the back of the radiator must therefore speed up.  Thus there are two speeds of airflow behind the radiator.  The faster moving plume of air collects the warm air from the radiator surface convecting it away at a higher velocity than before and into the room itself.

The contacting plumes of air moving at different speeds merge to cause a directional change of air flow. The end effect is to turn the air into the room instead of it stratosphering to the ceiling, and hugging the cold wall surface, as it would in a normal installation.The same situation is true for radiators with windows above them.

The Ecologic Panel profiles reduce the area through which the air must pass, thus increasing the chimney effect and increasing the velocity of heat into the room, much the same way as a dam across a river accelerates water flow.

The Ecologic Panel improves the comfort factor of the living space by increasing the amount of convected warm air and by achieving a much improved even distribution of heat throughout the room; this has the effect of making the room space feel warmer.

Summary

The Ecologic Panel will produce fuel savings of 10-20% through three different actions:

1. Preventing heat loss through the wall.
2. By ensuring the water temperature returns to the boiler about 2°C higher and therefore delaying the firing of the boiler.
3. By using otherwise wasted heat from the back of the radiator and pushing it into the room thereby producing about 2°C of extra heat in the room or causing controls to shut the system off earlier if fully optimised.

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