Many older homes contain hot water radiators as their heat source. These home radiators may contain several small problems and annoyances for home owners, such as difficulty cleaning, hot intake pipes, dust, flaking paint, and an inefficient transfer of heat near windows. Using a radiator cover can solve all of these problems, while adding a decorative element to the room.
What is a Radiator Cover?
A radiator cover, or radiator enclosure, is a grill which is placed over the cast iron radiator. It can contain shelves, and even cabinets, giving storage and decoration to a room. Available in a wide range of colors, radiator covers are made to blend into a room’s décor while providing more efficient heat.
What are the Benefits of a Radiator Cover?
In addition to blending old, cast iron radiators into a home’s décor, radiator covers provide several other benefits. Cast iron heaters by nature are fairly efficient heat sources. The heat travels straight up from them, however, making radiators that are placed near windows more inefficient, as the heat can be lost. Radiator covers are closed on top, creating both shelf space, and allowing the heat to be directed straight out into the room, and away from the heat loss of the window.
Painting old radiators, to help them blend into a room can also make a radiator less efficient; each coat of paint applied reduces the amount of heat able to come through. This means that each time a new coat of paint is needed, the old paint would need to be stripped away, making more work for the homeowner.
Radiators are also difficult to clean, and by their nature can be dusty, transferring this dust to nearby drapes and furniture. Radiator enclosures are easier to clean, and are also a great way to avoid flaking lead paint in older homes that might not have been as easily contained or removed.
One of the most important benefits of radiator covers is safety. Cast iron radiators and water intake pipes can become extremely hot. Radiator covers protect families and pets from potential burns.
Styles of Radiator Enclosures
Radiator enclosures come in many different styles. There are plain, neutral grills, which can blend a radiator into a window seat for rooms that have more of a need for the radiator to simply fade into the background. More decorative enclosures will mask a radiator inside of a cabinet or bookcase.
For the creatively inclined, unfinished radiator covers are available to be painted in any style or design. Finding a radiator enclosure that fits any décor can be done simply with custom models.
Be sure not to use enclosures made of wood, as they will not transfer heat as well, and can shrink and warp over time with exposure to heat. Measure thoroughly before ordering, to make sure that there is room for pipes and valves as well as adequate room for the heater itself.
Look into radiator covers and enclosures and update the home and increase heat efficiency today.
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