So you’re looking to buy a radiator. You’ve found a product that suits your every need – efficient heat generation, excellent programming control facilities and a stylish design that will look great in your home. But then you falter. Many of our radiators are available in up to six different sizes – with different dimensions and different wattages. How do you know which radiator wattage is right for your room size? Don’t worry – calculating your wattage is a quick and easy job. Check out our radiator calculator to determine radiator sizes within minutes, or read our guide to find out what different wattages really mean for your home.
What are radiator wattages?
The wattage of an electric radiator refers to its maximum output of electrical power. As a rule, a heater with a greater wattage will be able to generate more heat so will be suitable for larger rooms. However, the relationship between wattage and effective room heating is not always straightforward. Units of power only translate to units of heat when the radiator is an effective and efficient heater. If you use a radiator which is poorly designed and inefficient, it might have a 2000w wattage but still fail to heat your front room – it will just guzzle power and inflate your heating bills. A good way to understand the relationship between wattage and effective heating is with this metaphor:
Imagine you have two very powerful shire horses and you want to plough a field. The horses are identical – equally tall, equally strong and equally powerful. If they were radiators they would have identical wattages. Attached to the first horses is a state-of-the-art plough, with gleaming blades and polished beams. Attached to the second horse is an old, dilapidated plough with blunt blades and rusty components. The horses are put to work on identical fields. Unsurprisingly, the first horse does a much better job. The first field is neatly and thoroughly ploughed, with deep dark furrows of well-turned earth. In the second field, the furrows are uneven, incomplete and disordered, with large clumps of unturned earth. Even though both horses are identically powerful the use of a more efficient, better designed plough makes the first horse much more effective at ploughing.
The moral of this story is you can’t compare different products simply by their wattages. Nowhere is this more apparent than with our infrared heaters. So, we don’t recommend calculating the wattage needed to heat your room until you’ve decided on what type of heating you’re using – because the wattage required will depend on the efficiency of your heaters. Our radiator calculator is designed to calculate the wattage required when you use our energy efficient electric radiators – you should not use it for other forms of heating.
How do I calculate what wattage I need?
To help you out we’ve created a wattage calculator designed specifically for our energy efficient electric radiators. All you need to do is enter a few details about the size and style of your rooms and the calculator will tell you the total wattage needed to effectively heat them. Then simply choose as many heaters as you need to add up to the required wattage – so, for instance, you could use two 450w radiators to heat a room which needs a wattage of 900w.
The wattage you need will vary depending on a number of different factors: the size of your room, your ceiling height, the location of your property, the quality of your insulation and many more. If your house is draughty, poorly insulated, has large room spaces to heat and is in a cold part of the country, you’ll need a higher wattage to effectively heat the room than you would if the room was small, well-insulated and south-facing in a warm part of the country. Compare it to the horse analogy again – you’ll need a more powerful horse to plough a steep, bumpy field than you would for a small, flat field. If you are unsure about the factors that influence the wattage required in your home – if, for instance you’re heating unusual rooms such as conservatories, garages or rooms with large stairwells – we always recommend speaking to an expert to make sure you receive an accurate heating quote. Our friendly sales team are always happy to help.
Do not underspecify your wattage
You may be tempted to buy smaller radiators than your wattage recommends in order to save some money – but be warned! Underspecifying your heating will force your radiators to work harder and less efficiently to achieve your chosen temperature. This will lead to higher running costs, a poorly heated home and it may shorten the lifespan of your heaters. Imagine trying to use a Shetland pony to plough a seven acre field – the field, the pony and your crop yield would all suffer in the attempt. It’s important to make sure you purchase the correct sized radiators for your room size, location and insulation quality. If your calculation is on the borderline between two sizes always choose the radiator with the higher wattage. Your radiators will simply have to work less hard to warm your room – which may increase their lifespan.
What if I need a wattage for a different heater type?
As our calculator only works for electric radiators, you may be wondering how you can calculate the correct wattage for a different heater type such as our electric towel rails or infrared panels. Well, you’re in luck! Simply take a look at our ‘heats up to’ area ranges that have been listed on all of our products with specifications on room size and insulation type to help make sure you get the right wattage for your space. These measurements are listed for each individual heater so you can use precise measurements to get the most efficient and effective heating.
For a free quote from our expert heating advisors, contact our friendly sales team today. They’ll be more than happy to consult on the specific heating requirements of your home. Call us today on 0330 300 4444.
