Where would you put radiators?

[PrincessB]

If we assume a relatively well insulated house with windows of a high standard.

Also assume enough work going on to make plumbing in new radiators anywhere they work best an option.

Would you stick with the traditional look by placing most of them under the windows (barring hall and bathrooms). Do you swear by underfloor heating or do tall designer rads work best for you?

I was looking at houses on Rightmove and one which had undergone a huge amount of refurbishment had conventional wide radiators under almost every window with curtains which when drawn would block the radiators - To me it looked a bit old fashioned.

Dislaimer, I have one under window radiator in the smallest bedroom room which I use as my office. I didn't move it as there really is nowhere else in a room that size it could go, it still gets partly blocked by the sofa bed and I've been told you get pretty toast when the bed is folded down as it's next to the rad.

B.

[Urbandreamer]

If we assume a relatively well insulated house with windows of a high standard.

Assuming that then the window will only let out about 10 times the heat as the same size area of wall. The reason that radiators are traditionally sited by the window is that otherwise a convection current from the radiator to the window will be set up and experienced as a cold draft at the feet.

If I were building a house I would go for underfloor heating. It is however not so easy to retrofit.

[Itsallaguess]

Would you stick with the traditional look by placing most of them under the windows (barring hall and bathrooms)?

Isn't the window/radiator situation more about the fact that in terms of 'doing anything else' with the wall where the window is, it's almost written-off already, so it's perhaps a 'natural' position to put a radiator, as putting one anywhere else is then likely to write-off another wall, and a room them might not have many 'useful' walls left, where perhaps taller furniture might be positioned.

I do appreciate the curtain issue, where drawing curtains at a time when the central-heating may still be on seems like a waste of good energy and warmth, but we get around that particular problem with the judicious use of roller-blinds and curtains, with the roller-blinds being used if we need some privacy at a time when the radiators are still on.

That situation needs a little more managing, in terms of appreciating what's appropriate when the heating is either on or off, but I'm happy to have that situation if it means keeping the radiators out of the way of the other walls.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess