# Reflective radiator foil



## promoter (15 Oct 2011)

Does anyone know if the reflective foil sheets actually work? They seem a bit flimsy to me. Would appreciate any advice.


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## NOAH (15 Oct 2011)

yes  they work but have to be fitted properly,  i take off the rad, mark where the wall brackets go then use double sided tape to attcach the foil, finding the scew holes for the wall brackets is a bit tricky but i found the brackets kept the foil in place securelay forever, done this in 4 houses so far, i use the correct foil, got it in homebase,  it throws heat out and upward and does not heat the wall behind rad.

ok

noah


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## NHG (17 Oct 2011)

I put them in years ago and yes they do work.  It is important to dust them down every so often as well.

There is an old thread here on aam about them if you have a good search.


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## Eithneangela (17 Oct 2011)

Well done, Noah - to take off the rads before fitting the foil. I'm not a DIY person, so I had to cut the foil halfway down to go over the brackets and it wasn't really a success - I've now got foil bubbles behind the rads. However, I still think it works in deflecting the heat upwards and outwards into the room - proof of this is the heat stains along the paint above the rads.


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## Guns N Roses (17 Oct 2011)

I left the radiators on. Instead I cut the foil to fit around the brackets and stuck it to the wall with wallpaper paste. I used a spirit level to smooth out the foil behind the radiator to remove any air bubbles.


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## promoter (17 Oct 2011)

Thanks folks, appreciate the tips.


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## lowCO2design (17 Oct 2011)

promoter said:


> Does anyone know if the reflective foil sheets actually work? They seem *a bit flimsy* to me. Would appreciate any advice.


you've answered your own question


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## Sandals (18 Oct 2011)

I know I purchased the insulating paint a while back and was so poor (absolutely no difference and left wall full of spotty smokey marks, the shop refunded me the full €75 and made the gift card up to €100.


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## Leo (18 Oct 2011)

lowCO2design said:


> you've answered your own question


 
Are you saying they don't do what they are designed to?


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## lowCO2design (18 Oct 2011)

Leo said:


> Are you saying they don't do what they are designed to?


there may be better ways of spending your money


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## AlbacoreA (24 Dec 2011)

That doesn't really answer the question. The heat reflection would be from the material. Not how well built it was. If there something else about it , that doesn't add up, I would be interesting in hearing a little more about it.


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## threebedsemi (24 Dec 2011)

In relation to these products in general, consider the following:

1. You cannot cheat the laws of physics, heat will leave your house through external walls, no matter how well insulated. Obviously it escapes at a slower rate if the wall is well insulated (the entire wall that is).

2. These products are in effect trying to raise the insulation level of the section of the wall directly to the back of the radiator.

3. Assuming that the wall is an external wall, it is conceivable that the thermal performance of the section of the wall directly behind the radiator will be slightly improved.

4. This has no lasting effect on the heat retained by the room, as the remainder of the wall (the vast majority of the wall) will still allow heat to transfer to the outside over the course of a day or a 24 hr period, etc...

5. Consider it like this: if you glued a 1m x 1m piece of insulation to the inner face of your external wall, is it going to do anything to retain heat? The answer is no, unless you work to four or five decimal points...

Thus, if the rate of heat loss of a room is unchanged over the course if a day, how are you saving energy or money? These products *may* allow the room to heat up slightly more quickly, but the heat will be lost just as quickly as it was before. I can’t see how they save energy (and therefore money) over the course of a day or over a heating season.

The other thing to consider is that, if your wall is reasonably well insulated (or an internal wall) most of the heat which these manufacturers say is ‘lost’ is not lost but is rather retained in the thermal mass of the wall, and will be released back into the house over time. 

There are far better ways to invest 100 euro in an attempt to retain heat in a house (proper draught proofing for one). 

www.studioplustwo.com


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## Sandals (25 Dec 2011)

threebedsemi said:


> (proper draught proofing for one).



Second this, €22 spent in woodies, draftproofing the attic stair hatch and a seal for back door. Immediate results visible.


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## Superman (26 Dec 2011)

threebedsemi said:


> These products are in effect trying to raise the insulation level of the section of the wall directly to the back of the radiator....4. This has no lasting effect on the heat retained by the room, as the remainder of the wall (the vast majority of the wall) will still allow heat to transfer to the outside over the course of a day or a 24 hr period, etc...


I disagree. 

If you imagine a fine grained heat profile of such a wall, you would see a hot spot corresponding to the location of the radiator (located on an external wall). 
That radiator is losing a lot of its energy into the wall and the wall directly behind the radiator is not at room temperature - it is far higher than that. The foil of course is designed to reduce radiant heat - which is quite low for a radiator compared to the convection heat produced. 

Another solution would be not to locate the radiator on an external wall. Foil located behind a radiator would tend to mimic but not achieve the equivalent of locating the radiator internally. There are other issues with locating the radiator in such a way however.


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