Many people have contacted us with information, and asked for our thoughts on the latest development in heating technology; Graphene radiators and energy core radiators. These appear to make fantastic claims about energy efficiency, CO2 reduction and of course, reduced running costs.
Some radiators claim to use the very latest in materials technology – Graphene which at 1 molecule thick is less than a billionth of a meter, but also stronger than titanium and more conductive than copper.
This wonder material seems to deliver more energy than it actually uses...if that were possible.
It’s true that radiant heat can deliver a more comfortable environment using less energy by the way it delivers the heat, but this is best delivered at low level and from multi directions for best effect. This is true of UFH and radiant skirting heating, but is not so effective when created from a single point emitter such as a panel type radiator.
What is true is the 1st law of thermodynamics in that energy cannot be created or destroyed – just converted from 1 form to another. Put simply, the very best in a perfect system you can achieve is the same amount out as you put in. In reality, in any electrical or mechanical system there will be unavoidable losses, so that you will receive slightly less heat energy out than the electrical energy you put in.
Therefore if your room requires 1kw of heat energy to stay warm, even a perfect, 100% efficient device needs 1kw of electrical energy putting in.
The inconvenient truth for Graphene and energy core radiators is that they still create a point heat source and still consume electrical energy at the same rate as apparently less sophisticated (i.e. less expensive) products. The extremely high temperatures they create in order to deliver an entire rooms’ worth of heating from a small emitter means that overheating and failure is a common occurrence. One manufacturers’ products have even been added to the National Fire Services Information page on potentially hazardous products.
Many of you may have heard the Radio 4 article on Graphene radiators on the 27th of April. You can hear it here; http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0783lkl
Of course, manufacturing and delivering such cutting edge technology and materials is not easy or cheap – we have heard of figures of £11,000 for a typical 3 bed semi Graphene radiator heating system; practically 11 years’ worth of electricity bills. Also reliability and servicing is a major concern. More importantly, we have heard many instances of deposits lost, companies appearing and disappearing and a general feeling that once again, what appears to be too good to be true, actually isn’t.
Here at DiscreteHeat, we have adopted an extremely well proven and reliable form of heating technology for our ThermaSkirt-e electric skirting heating system.
The cable we use has been developed especially for us by a UK manufacturer with over 40 years’ experience and has been tested in some of the most arduous conditions. Installation is simple and inexpensive, and servicing and maintenance, whist not generally required, can be carried out by any competent installer or electrician.
ThermaSkirt-e skirting radiators comes with a 5 year manufacturers’ warranty, and can be connected onto a suitable electrical supply and controlled by one of our highly accurate, fully programmable room thermostats.
By heating from low level and all around the room, your energy is best utilised and an even comfortable environment assured.
ThermaSkirt-e; simple, safe, energy efficient heating in a skirting.
