In searching for a car heater I've come across this.
https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/radiator-booster-n82nl
I've never heard of one before. It's cheap enough to take a punt on . Our front bedrooms don't get much sun in the winter and are noticeably colder than the sunny side.
I can't see how it costs 30p a year to run. Does anyone have any experience of one?
It's just a fan that sucks warm air from behind the rad and blows it into the room. No extra heating. You can get them for log burners, (without the mains plug).
No extra heating.
The fan will increase the heat loss from the radiator, so you will get more heat out of the radiator as the boiler will kick in more often due to the cooler return temp (assuming the boiler isn't the limiting factor).
Also heatshields on the wall behind and a shelf above the radiator help the heat you've paid for get into the bit of the room you're in, and less into the bit near the ceiling.
I’ve just replaced some radiators with double panel designs (more btu). from Screwfix. They varied by size but were between £40 and £60 and came wjth free thermostats.
Depending on your existing radiator and fitment they could be either a simple diy job to fit or £100 max to get someone with plumbing skills to do it for you.
So £150 maximum you can get a radiator thats up to the job. I think that would be a better long term fix.
I thought a shelf above the radiator reduced convection...it might push heat away from the wall but it slows down the total airflow.
can't see how it costs 30p a year to run. Does anyone have any experience of one
The Q&A gives the operation consumption at 1.25w. So if you run it for 5hrs a day, and let’s say you pay 13p per unit, that’s 30p a year.
Seems quite low consumption, but guess it’s only a small fan in there.
Most people don't understand that, to use a heating system efficiently, you need to heat up the structure and contents of the house. Having a bit of warm air blasting around the room for a couple of hours won't do this.
That may be true, but in an older solid walled house designed to be heated with fireplaces in rooms (mine had nine), that may take days if starting from cold, and you don't always want to clad the outside or lose the features of the inside by insulating as much as possible. Nevertheless you don't want to freeze either. I'm off to put another jumper on.