Radiator Reflector Panels - Installation guide and usage reduction effectiveness

  • 20 October 2018
  • 15 replies
  • 2676 views

Userlevel 2

Updated on 09/05/22 by Jess_OVO

 


For the uninitiated (myself included) could you tell us a bit more about Radiator Reflector Panels. What they are? How they are supposed to work?

 

 


This vid may help:


Savings of £60-£120!!! Right!!!
I've been researching it online for the last few days. Saying you can save that much is a joke.

On This Is Money's website they say you can save about £10 a year.

I've ordered a roll of foil on Ebay, for £7-8 it will do my 3 radiators that are backed onto an exterior wall. As long as it stops heat escaping out through the back of the radiators, I'm happy. I wish it did save me £60 - £120 per year. I think the guy in the video was just exaggerating just a little bit lol

 

All done, the 3 rads backing onto an exterior wall, now have reflective foil between the back of rads and wall 🆒
Hopefully should reflect heat back into our rooms

 

 

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Hope this is of some use.

 

 

 

So what was the verdict​​​​?- Did you see any improvements in terms of your energy usage after fitting these?

 

 


I can’t give you the £ or Kwh as I don’t have them now, but what I did do [when I was with OVO] was check my OVO bill statements online & compare them with the same same month/s 2-4yrs previous when I didn’t have the rad reflectors and my bills were a lot cheaper, house was deffo warmer. I can’t give you £ or kWh as  I don’t know I didn’t check. but bills were deffo down. I suppose any improvement even minor [such rad reflectors] to keep more heat in the house would help in spending less on energy.

 


15 replies

Userlevel 5
Hi @Crìstian, welcome to the forum!

For the uninitiated (myself included) could you tell us a bit more about Radiator Reflector Panels. What they are? How they are supposed to work?
Userlevel 2
Hi, @Mw2870 Thanks for the welcome
This vid may help, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48co8eLBUmg
Savings of £60-£120!!! Right!!!
I've been researching it online for the last few days. Saying you can save that much is a joke.

On This Is Money's website they say you can save about £10 a year.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-5077265/Can-tin-foil-radiators-cut-energy-bills.html

I've ordered a roll of foil on Ebay, for £7-8 it will do my 3 radiators that are backed onto an exterior wall. As long as it stops heat escaping out through the back of the radiators, I'm happy. I wish it did save me £60 - £120 per year. I think the guy in the video was just exaggerating just a little bit lol
Userlevel 5
Wow @Crìstian, as you say he is making some big claims!
Thank you for posting the links. I had not heard of this before.
I will be interested to hear how you get on. Keep us posted!
Userlevel 2
Will do @Mw2870 I should get my roll of radiator foil that i bought on eBay, in the next couple of days. Will add some pics here
Userlevel 2
All done @Mw2870 the 3 rads backing onto an exterior wall, now have reflective foil between the back of rads and wall 🆒
Hopefully should reflect heat back into our rooms








Sorry about the photo of foil behind rad, there wasn't much space between rad & wall, also not much light as I had to have my phone close to rad & wall, so not much light.

Hope this is of some use.
Userlevel 5
Looks like a very neat job @Crìstian. I would be interested to know the effect on your bills over the winter.
Userlevel 2
Thanks! So will I lol @Mw2870
I'll be happy knowing that it prevents most of the heat escaping through the wall from the back of our rads.
Userlevel 7

We’re just going back over some old threads here and stumbled across this great how-to guide on installing radiator reflectors. 

 

So what was the verdict, @Crìstian?- Did you see any improvements in terms of your energy usage after fitting these?

Userlevel 2

Hi, Jess_OVO [@Jess_OVO] Yes, my gas bill have been going down! When I compared our Bill Statements over the last few years. [but prices are going up] Which is the reason I've switched from OVO to Octopus, OVO has been a good energy supplier, Good CS. That's why I've been with OVO for over 5yrs. But in 2021 when they increased their prices, I had to look elsewhere for a cheaper energy supplier. Even when I got in touch with OVO, about their price hike, and told them how much Octopus were charging for their Gas & Elec and Standing Charges. OVO said they couldn't beat their prices. I'm really happy as an Octopus customer, I'm in a 24mnth [my choice, I could have gone for the cheaper option of 12mnth tariff, but thought with energy prices going up, I'd go for the long haul lol which would work out cheaper in the long run] Although I'm in 24mnth tariff I can move at anytime to their other tariffs if I see a cheaper on, or I can leave Octopus at any time [There is no exit fee] They will even tell me, if they have a cheaper tariff that the on I'm presently on.  

They have great CS, I've got no hassles, or complaints with Octopus since moving over to them in April 2021.

I will add photos of my Gas & Elec Tariffs, and my latest Gas/Elec Statement
[Cropped my address, & account details etc for obvious reasons lol] 

Our Elec is a lot dearer than our Gas, as ​​​​​​​I'm at home practically all the time as I have mobility issues & health issues. We do coking on an Electric cooker, Lawn Mower, Strimmer, Hedge Trimmers are electric [which was used a lot in the past few months] plus TV,  Laptops, Gadgets are on or on charge,  as at home most of time.

Elec Bill = £36.14 | Gas Bill = £8.91. 
Elec Tariff Including VAT= 18.28p/kWh. | Elec. Standing Charge 23.27 per day.
Gas Tariff Including VAT= 3.23p/kWh.    | Gas Standing Charge Including VAT = 21p per day.

 

Userlevel 7

Great to hear that you noticed a benefit from the radiator reflectors, @Crìstian.

 

Do you have any idea of the impact it had on you Annual Usage figures? ie the kWhs of gas you used per year both before and after you made this change? :thumbsup:

 

Userlevel 2

Hi, Jess, good evening
I can’t give you the £ or Kwh as I don’t have them now, but what I did do [when I was with OVO] was check my OVO bill statements online & compare them with the same same month/s 2-4yrs previous when I didn’t have the rad reflectors and my bills were a lot cheaper, house was deffo warmer. I can’t give you £ or kWh as  I don’t know I didn’t check. but bills were deffo down. I suppose any improvement even minor [such rad reflectors] to keep more heat in the house would help in spending less on energy. Sorry I can’t be of more help. 

Userlevel 7

Thanks for the info - I’m sure this will be a great help to others who might be looking to make energy-efficiency improvements to their homes, @Crìstian.

 

I’ve combined your comments in to a handy guide above which will help other who might find this thread in future - well do for such a clear and detailed run-down!

 

Any more energy-saving tips up your sleeve?

Userlevel 2

...Any more energy-saving tips up your sleeve?

Hi Jess, evening!
Forgot to mention in my previous reply… 

What also I started doing in last couple of months is switching the Gas boiler [Combi Boiler]  [our source of constant hot water] off from the wall socket.  and only switch it back on when we actually need hot water on for [showers, baths, cooking, washing-up etc] and when we finish using it, we switch it back off. 

I thought what a waste of Gas/Elec having the hot water on constantly, heating up to a certain degree, then when it cools down, it heats up again over & over, what a waste of energy especially through the night when we’re in bed. I have also turned down the hot water & heating temp. from boiler to 50° instead of the default 60°-65°. 

I hope these posts/replies are of some help... [to save on energy bills  £££, and to keep warm for that little bit less] ...to anyone reading.
To quote a Tesco tagline “Every Little Helps” :)

Userlevel 7

That’s a very interesting tip there, @Crìstian - makes sense to avoid the boiler having to cycle on and off to keep hot water hot IN CASE it’s needed. A bit inconvenient perhaps, but easy to see how that would allow a saving! 

 

You might benefit from a smart thermostat, which helps to automate room heating. OVO members get an exclusive price for Tado smart thermostats. More info here

 

I’ve taken this info below from OVO’s guide on How to use less energy, while staying at home in case it’s also helpful:

 

Heating and your boiler

Layer up 
Did you know wearing layers traps heat? Don’t put your winter jumpers away just yet. Because turning the thermostat down by just one degree can save most households £80 on their annual energy bill1. But remember to keep your home at a safe temperature. It shouldn’t be lower than 18C. 

Tweak the water temperature
If the water is feeling a bit too hot when you’re washing up or taking a shower, try turning it down directly on the boiler. Doing this means the boiler doesn’t have to work so hard to heat up the water in the first place – using less energy and saving money.

Move furniture away from radiators 
If you’ve got furniture in front of your radiators, they won’t be able to heat rooms properly. Try moving things around, and see if your home feels warmer. The same goes if you’re drying laundry on your radiators: once something’s dry, take it off to make them more efficient. 

Bleed your radiators
Feel the top of your radiators when they’re on. If they’re cold, this means it’s likely they need to be bled with a radiator key. You can tell if you’ve done it because once all the air’s gone, water starts to drip. After that, your home should feel warmer, faster. 

Check your pressure
The ideal boiler pressure should be between bars 1 and 2 (this varies from boiler to boiler, so also check your boiler manual for the correct information). Give yours a check, and if the pressure isn’t what it should be, check the instruction manual to learn how to change it. 

For more information, see our full guide on the most efficient and cheapest ways to heat your home.

Userlevel 2

...A bit inconvenient perhaps, but easy to see how that would allow a saving!... 

 

Hi, evening Tim.

Yes, it can be a bit inconvenient, just a bit lol. We have our boiler downstairs [in the kitchen] I know many people that have their boiler upstairs in cupboard. So the only time we find it a little inconvenient is when we get up in the morning and want to go for a shower/bath, one of us has to go downstairs and switch the boiler back on. The rest of the time it’s not an issue. At first when I started switching it off/on, we’d forget to switch it off, but now, about 2mnths. on it’s second nature to us to switch it off after using the hot water.

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