Maximise the Heat From Your Radiators
A little used technique for increasing interior insulation in your home is to use a radiator insulator.
Approximately 25% of heat, which is emitted from a radiator, is currently lost to the wall that the radiator is attached to. However, it is possible to retain this heat by applying a foil faced expanded polystyrene lining to the wall immediately behind the radiator itself. This will then help to prevent heat loss through the walls by radiating the heat back into the room off the foil lining.
The job of adding the foil faced expanded polystyrene lining is one of the easier DIY jobs and it can be performed with the radiator on or off the wall.
Firstly you should take measurements of all the radiators that you which to insulate and then buy your insulation lining. The foil lining insulation is cheap to buy and can be bought in tiles, sheets or rolls depending on how much you need.
Once you have your foil faced expanded polystyrene lining you would need to mark a piece of the material to be slightly smaller than the radiator itself (so that you do not have a shiny coating protruding out from the radiator in ready view) making sure that you have also marked the areas where the wall brackets house the radiator to the wall.
Then you would need to use a sharp knife or scissors to cut out the foil shape, remembering to also cut out the slots that will allow you to fit the foil around the radiator brackets. The final step is to simply attach the foil faced expanded polystyrene lining to the wall behind the radiator. A good tip for attaching the foil is to find a long thin baton of wood and use it to smooth the foil onto the wall. It is advised that the foil is attached using a good quality fungicidal wallpaper paste, however you can also use double sided sticky plastic strips to attach the lining.
Finally, once the material has been attached you should allow the agent you have used to attach the foil faced expanded polystyrene lining to dry before you turn the radiator on again.
If you would like to undertake this work yourself and you are looking for suitable materials, you will find everything you need at Wickes with FREE DELIVERY on orders over £50!