What is a Conventional Radiator?
A conventional hot-water radiator consists of a sealed hollow metal container, usually flat in shape. Hot water enters at the top of the radiator by way of pressure, from a pump elsewhere in the building, or by convection.
As it gives out heat the hot water cools and sinks to the bottom of the radiator and is forced out of a pipe at the other end. The pipe either has a large surface area or attached fins to increase its surface area and therefore contact with surrounding air. The air near a radiator is then heated and produces a convection current in the room drawing in cold air to heat.
If set up improperly, radiators, and their supply and return pipes, can make loud banging noises like someone hammering on the pipes. This is due to either the pipes rubbing on surrounding surfaces while expanding and contracting due to heat changes or to sudden fluctuations of the supplied water pressure. Proper mounting of the radiators and supply pipes will reduce expansion noises, while upward-mounted stub ends with a trapped bubble of air (not interfering with flow, as would an un-bled radiator) will provide a cushion against pressure fluctuations, an anti-hammer device.
Stereotypical cast iron radiators (as pictured) are no longer common in new construction, replaced mostly with copper pipes which have aluminum fins to increase their surface area. In the U.K., modern domestic radiators tend to be of sheet steel construction (often with steel fins), though copper/aluminium is often found in industrial Air Handling System heat exchangers.
The radiator was invented in 1855 by Franz SanGalli. He was the first to produce a system of central heating and patented his invention in Germany and the US.
There are many designs and varieties of radiators, from conventional to modern style. Radiators are sometimes seen as an art form, much like sculpture.
Steam Radiators
Single-pipe steam radiatorSteam has the advantage of flowing through the pipes under its own pressure without the need for pumping. For this reason, it was adopted earlier, before electric motors and pumps became available. Steam is also far easier to distribute than hot water throughout large, tall buildings like skyscrapers. However, the higher temperatures at which steam systems operate make them inherently less efficient, as unwanted heat loss is inevitably greater.
Steam pipes and radiators are also prone to producing banging sounds (known as "water hammer") if condensate fails to drain properly; this is often caused by buildings settling and the resultant pooling of condensate in pipes and radiators that no longer tilt slightly back towards the boiler. |
Scientifically engineered and designed for maximum heat distribution.
