Why Choose an Oil Radiator?
When it comes to keeping your home warm and cozy oil-filled radiators are an excellent choice. They are economical and provide efficient heating.
But how do oil filled radiators choose the best oil heater? The right model depends on the size of the room as well as the wattage and features and also ease of use.
Select the right oil radiator
The Ideal Home team has evaluated the most popular oil radiators and compared their costs of operation, ease of use and heating performance. We've crowned the overall winner and compared models for small and large spaces, and if you're shopping on a budget.
Oil filled radiators use electrical elements to heat thermodynamic oil, which warms the metal walls of the radiator. This creates convection, where air moves across the surface and is heated and rises to warm the rest of your room. This kind of radiator may take a bit longer to heat up than other types, but once it has it will hold the heat for longer periods which can make it more efficient in energy use than electric wall heaters.
It is also possible to regulate your radiator with an electronic thermostat or timer to regulate the temperature throughout the daytime. This is particularly useful when you're away from home for a long period of time. It can pre-heat the room to a more energy efficient temperature. It can also pause your heating if it detects that the room is unoccupied to avoid wasting energy while keeping the temperature comfortable.
Certain oil radiators allow you to set the temperature you prefer. They are also compatible with WiFi, so they can be controlled with an app on your tablet or smartphone. This gives you the flexibility to set your heating around your schedule or alter it according to your lifestyle changes.
As a result, the best oil radiators you can get will have an intuitive user interface and simple controls that are easy to grasp. They are ideal for busy families that require a heating system that can be relied on to work without needing professional installation. Most radiators in our range also have a handle for carrying and wheels which make them portable, meaning that they can be moved from room to room as required. This flexibility means they're great for offices, spare bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as being used in conjunction with your main heating system in cold temperatures.
Thermostatic valves
Thermostatic vales are an integral element of any radiator system that runs on oil. They not only regulate the temperature of the room, but also guard against scalding and reduce energy usage. They operate by using the thermosensitive wax capsule to detect the temperature of the air and then adjust the amount of water is fed into the radiator to keep that desired temperature.
The thermostatic valve (TRV), is composed of two parts comprising the head and base. The head is placed on top of the body and, when the temperature in the room changes, the capsule inside the head will expand or contract, moving the pin on the body of the valve upwards or downwards to open or close the radiator. When the TRV is closed, the head of valve is pressurized against the body. There is no way for water to pass through. When the TRV is opened the pin will move up and the head of the valve will be lifted, allowing hot water to flow into the radiator and warm the room up.
There are many different designs and colors of TRVs to pick from, making them suitable for a variety of spaces. It is essential to maintain your TRVs in good working order by cleaning them regularly. Dust and other debris could block the vents in the valve head and prevent air from hitting the liquid or wax capsule within the body of the valve. This can cause the pins to get stuck, preventing the valve from closing and opening. If this happens spray the head of valve with WD40 before trying moving it using your fingers.
Depending on the heating system it is possible that you will require straight or angle-shaped thermostatic valves. Angled valves are designed to fit in tight spaces, like corners or between furniture. Bathroom and kitchen radiators are usually equipped with these valves. Straight valves, on other hand, are great for larger radiators. They also come with an integrated shut off valve. This can be useful in the event that you need to shut off a radiator without shutting off the entire heating system.
Manual valves
A valve is an instrument that opens and closes passageways to allow, prevent or control the flow of fluids. Valves are available in a variety of different types each with its distinct mechanisms and functions. The type of valve you need will depend on your specific application.
Manual radiator valves are a popular choice due to their low cost and simple to use. They function similarly to taps. The handle is turned clockwise to turn them on and counter-clockwise to turn off. However manual valves don't have full control of your temperature control and may overheat when left on for too for too long.
Advanced radiator valves, including thermostatic valves, can be in total control of your heating system and can be used to automatically regulate the temperature of every room. This lets you to heat your home only when it is occupied, saving you money on energy bills.
In hydronic systems manual balance valves may be utilized to regulate the flow of water through a building's coils. This is crucial to avoid the typical complaint of too cold or too hot areas. The issue occurs when pressure changes alter the flow of water through the system and alter the heat transfer and cause one coil to have too much flow, and another one not to have enough.
Manual balancing valves are made to eliminate this issue by providing a means of altering the flow of water in each zone to accommodate variations in flow caused by pressure changes. They are available in different sizes and materials, with the most common being cast iron. Other choices include stainless steel, chrome alloy brass and bronze. These valves are available in flanged or threaded ends as well as socket-weld and butt-weld connections. Some manual balancing valves have a rotating element that rotates to open and close the passageway. Certain valves come with switches or indicators which can be controlled remotely to show their condition.
Power requirements
Oil radiators are designed to heat a space using radiant and convective heating methods. The thermal fluid contained in the radiator can reach all corners and nooks. In turn, they use less energy than traditional forced-air heating systems.
This makes them more energy-efficient than central heating radiators because they don't depend on a pipe network to transfer warm air around the house. The only thing that will affect their electricity consumption is their wattage, which determines how much warmth they can produce in an hour. This information is available on the packaging of the product and on our website.
Electricity is measured by kilowatt hours (kWh). It's important to know this unit when you are calculating the running costs of an electrical heater. To determine a radiator's wattage simply multiply the unit's power rating in watts by the amount of hours you'll use it over the course of an hour. You can then divide the total by the pence per kWh charge that your energy provider has set to get an estimate of how much you'll pay to use it.
An important factor to consider when selecting an electric radiator is the level of insulation you have in your home or workplace. A good insulation will allow the radiator to retain its heat for longer and require less energy. If you reside in a cold or draughty location you might want to choose the higher wattage electric radiator to warm the room more quickly.
Like all electric radiators radiators that are filled with oil consume an amount of energy to warm the space. This is because an electrical element heats the oil in the radiator, which then transfer the warmth to your room by air convection. Keep in mind that a draughty or large room will consume more energy to heat.
You can reduce the amount of electricity your radiator uses by switching it on only when you require it and avoiding leaving it turned on for too long between uses. You can also utilize features like programmable timers and eco-modes to further improve energy efficiency.