What to Look for When Buying a Designer Radiator

2 min


Radiators are something of a unique and important product you need to buy for your home. While it is all too easy to get a cheap radiator hung on the wall that will work as planned for a few years if you’re one to care for how your home looks, you’ll want to branch out from basic white panel radiators for something more exciting.

That’s why you should be thinking about designer radiators the next time you need to buy a radiator. There are many misconceptions, not just regarding price, about designer radiators which you should know about before you buy one. Before you make the leap and head to checkout, here is what you should be looking out for when buying a designer radiator.  

They’re built differently

You really wouldn’t be able to tell if I had a row of regular and designer radiators all lined up, but a big differential for designer items is that they’re made from different materials. If you were to walk into a DIY shop and get a basic radiator today, there is a good bet it will be made from steel. 

Designer radiators are typically made from stainless steel or aluminium. The difference in material could be due to the shape the manufacturer is trying to achieve or the heat properties (which I’ll mention next) they want the radiator to have. 

Typically, aluminium is the most expensive material to source and work with, making it a big reason why designer radiators cost more.

They heat fast, but may not be as retentive

Designer radiators are traditionally better for difficult to heat places. What do I mean by this? See what I just said about the materials of designer radiators usually being different, that plays a role in how reactive the radiator is when the heating comes on.

For example, if you had two of the exact same radiator in a room, but one was made of steel, and the other was made of aluminium, the steel radiator would take longer to heat up and cool down. While that means the aluminium can quickly bring a room up to temperature, if you needed a radiator to be on for long periods or heat a room for a good bit, it’s preferable to have a steel radiator which is slower to cool down instead. 

They shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg

Designer by name, but not always designer by price. I believe that many people make the mistake of thinking designer radiators are going to be quite expensive due to having no real knowledge of the market. If I were making you guess right now how much you’d expect to pay for a common 600mm by 1200mm single panel horizontal designer radiator, and you were to guess around the £500 mark, you’d be way off. In fact, if you were to go anywhere over £300, you’d still be on the upper end of the price scale. A reliable store will do you a good deal on designer radiators. Just look at these great designer options from Reina which will look the part in almost any room and can be snapped up much cheaper than expected.

It’s only if you’re opting for designer radiators with unique designs, especially vertical rails with offset piping, that you’d expect to pay a heftier price. 

Make DIY at home easier!

Thanks for reading. If you’d like to read more articles on DIY advice and how to make difficult jobs easier, visit the DIY section of the site. You’ll find articles on everything from tool hire to dealing with concrete.

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