The recent cold spell, unprecedented for most of us, has meant the heating in many houses has been running non-stop.
Some people have been asking whether their radiators have sufficient heating capacity to heat rooms in their home. Calculations for heater capacity requirement are usually done in consideration of the volume of space in the room . While this is the single best means of specifying the heating requirements for a room, other factors have a significant impact on this. The volume of glazing diminishes the thermal performance of a room substantially. The Ground Floor rooms in two-storey houses have better thermal performance because the ceiling is insulated from the outside by the rooms at First Floor level. The ratio of external walls to internal walls in the rooms is also a factor.
The above factors have the impact of making house extensions more vulnerable to heat loss. This is true even when the insulation values of the floors, walls, roofs and windows are very good. In fact, that is why it is critical to have high insulation values in house extensions because of their higher level of exposure to the elements. The positive side of this is the fact that the rooms connected to the extension can be warmer and more comfortable because the extension acts as a buffer.
While most of us rely on central heating to keep our homes warm, the use of electrical heating to bolster exposed or colder areas of the house can be an economising factor because it is so specific and focussed. We recommend you use a timer control with the electric heater. However, you should take the time to familiarise yourself with how it works and set it for your required times. You should also know how to turn the heater on while not interfering with the pre-set times (called over-riding in some manuals). It can be painful to read the page from the manual but it is worthwhile. It might make the difference between a cosy, warm winter or the alternative.
