hot water radiators

Hot-water radiators are increasingly popular in newer homes. Common designs include the baseboard and the upright types.

Hot water radiators and boilers

The hot water used in modern radiators is typically obtained through boilers, which can run on biomass fuel (pellet and wood) or, more commonly, on less environmental gas and oil efficient condensing boilers.

Note: electric boilers aren't a true economical alternative, except for small and sporadic heating loads.

Solar & Home Hot water radiators

See, on this issue: Solar and Hot Water Radiators

Problems with hot water radiators

The most common problem with hot-water radiators is unwanted air. To expel that unwanted air you may - generally at the start of the heating season - open each radiator bleed valve slightly while the system is running, and close the valve when water starts to escape through it. Repeat the operation in each radiator. For multi-level homes, start at the top floor.

Radiators, home zones and thermostats

Use programmable thermostats to get energy savings from hot-water radiators.

A great solution to get higher energy savings is to install automatic valves, which are typically controlled by a set of thermostats located in each room or part of the house.

These thermostats will switch your baseboard heater on or off in bedtime and out-of-home occasions, matching the settings to your personal and more convenient usage patterns.

home zones and hot water radiators

To achieve energy savings with hot water radiators you should adopt zoning, that is, you should to adopt different temperatures in different rooms and parts of the building, controlling them by different thermostats. Obviously, this solution demand rooms and parts of the house not being used or used on different schedules.

Operating with different heating zones demands rooms sufficiently insulated from each other. Closing doors is necessary, but often not sufficient to insulate the rooms.

Be aware, anyway: once water pipes often freeze below 40-50ºF/4-10ºC temperatures, if you live in a cold climate do not entirely shut off the heat in unused rooms and parts of the building.