Central Heating Radiator System Can Be Made To Be Efficient
One of the oldest and most inefficient home heating system is the single loop central heating radiator system. In this system, a boiler heats water, usually in the home's basement and the hot water is pumped through a pipe to the inlet side of the radiators connected to the system. Water from that first radiator is then passed along to the next one in the single loop central heating radiator system until it has traveled through them all, when it is returned to the boiler.
The primary disadvantage to this system is that the radiator closest to the central heating radiator system gets much hotter than the last one in the line. In theory, there is no limit to the number of radiators that can be connected to the loop, but the further from the central heating radiator boiler they are, the less heat they will generate.
Another design for the central heating radiator system has a separate water return line from each radiator. The feed line of the hot water is extended to all of the radiators in the loop, which is actually a separate loop for each radiator. As the water passes through the respective radiators, it goes into a return line that sends it back to the boiler. This provides a more even distribution of the hot water from the boiler.
Speed Is Not A Strength Of Radiated Heat
As the name implies, the heat generated in a central heating radiator system comes from the hot water in the radiators. Since there is no moving air there will be less dust flying around the house but there will also be no warm air being circulated. Once the radiator gets hot, the air around it is warmed through conduction. As the hot air rises and the cold air heads towards the floor, making lower areas in the room considerably colder than the ceilings, where no one usually sits.
Some radiators in a central heating radiator system use metal deflectors on top of the individual radiators to deflect the heat down and away from the radiator, helping to move the warmer air around the room faster. Radiators can also cause burns if touched while the hot water is just arriving into the system.
One of the big dangers with central heating radiator units is if all of the radiators are turned off and the boiler's relief valve is not functioning, pressure can build up in the pipes causing them to burst from the pressure or worse, causing the boiler to break apart at the seams.
