Do Radiator Covers Block Heat?

Ensuring that your heating system provides a high-efficiency level is important if you want to keep your bills down. And if you’re a warm-blooded human with a wallet (or a scientent robot), we’ll assume you don’t like paying bills. 

But how would this apply to radiators specifically?

Moreover, would radiator covers or curtains prevent your radiator from heating the room adequately?

And what about safety concerns?

Let’s have a look...

Do Radiator Covers Block Heat?

First, let’s discuss radiator covers - not a song based on the original radiator, but a container around the radiator. For, whether curtains can block heat from a radiator, skip to the next section.

There are many reasons why you may want to have a radiator cover installed, such as:

• To reduce radiator noise.

• As part of an effort to childproof and pet-proof your home, such that they can’t come in direct contact with a radiator.

• For aesthetic purposes and as a way to reclaim space that would otherwise be lost.

• Your radiator cover has advertisement space, and you can sell the area to sponsors.

Either way, many types/styles of radiator covers are available on the market. Therefore, it’s important to spend time finding the right one for you and your radiator.

So, will a radiator cover block heat?

This will depend on a range of factors, but it is possible, certainly.

If a radiator cover isn’t well designed for the radiator in question, there is a risk that heat could end up trapped inside the radiator cover.

If it is well-designed, the opposite could be true (more on this shortly)

Firstly, if you had a poorly designed radiator cover installed, this could reduce the amount of heat reaching the room and thus lower the efficiency of your radiator. It’s why woollen radiator covers weren’t around for a long time. 

Moreover, it could lead to other issues with your heating system. 

Beyond that, if the TRV detects the temperature inside the radiator cover to be really hot (significantly hotter than the rest of the space), it could lower the radiator’s heat output, making the room even colder.

Also, since your home wouldn’t be achieving the temperature you’ve set on the thermostat, your boiler would be forced to work harder. Like yourself, your boiler doesn’t like to overwork. 

This, in turn, would mean it would burn gas in a greater quantity and likely raise your heating bills.

Thankfully though, with a well-designed radiator cover, you shouldn’t run into the above issues.

What’s more, a well-designed radiator cover may even lead to a higher level of energy efficiency. It’s why your boiler is really rooting for you to get a well-designed radiator cover.

This is because, according to some professionals, once the airflow is right, a radiator cover may increase natural convection, and therefore, more efficiency. 

But what exactly makes a radiator cover well-designed? Ultimately, like the fit of your shorts, a good radiator cover is relative to the radiator itself.

In other words, finding a cover with the right design would depend on your radiator. 

Basically, what you want to look for is a radiator cover that provides your radiator with gaps of 5cm in width, 3cm in height, and 3cm in depth.

Other considerations may apply, but in general, a radiator cover which offers these gaps between it and your radiator shouldn’t impact your radiator’s ability to heat a room.

One way or another, it’s important to look around and find a radiator cover that you’re confident will (at least) maintain your radiator’s expected energy efficiency by allowing sufficient air circulation.

If in doubt, ask a qualified heating engineer for their opinion (or your mother-in-law, who might give it anyway). 

Turning down your boiler flow temperature could also save you up to 8% on your heating bill too, check our new guide on whether to turn the radiators off in unused rooms for another quick and free energy-saving hack.

Will Curtains Block Heat? 

Many households will have at least one radiator installed beneath a window - like a burglar caught in the act.

If this is the case in your home, you may be wondering whether or not curtains installed here would block your radiator’s heat from reaching the rest of the room.

It could ultimately result in most of your radiator’s heat exiting via the window.

So, clearly, this could pose a serious issue to your radiator’s efficiency levels.

So, what can you do about this? One solution is to simply install blinds and use these as a way of ensuring privacy - if you’re into privacy. 

In this scenario, you should keep your curtains open most of the time, particularly when your radiator is on. 

There are a whole host of blind designs on the market ranging from Venetian to roller to Roman and shutter blinds.

We’d recommend spending some time looking around for the ideal design for you and the room in question.

Should you have blinds fitted, you could still have curtains (even floor-length curtains) installed, even purely for decorative purposes much of the time.

With all that said, you could still pull your curtains over at certain times without affecting your radiator’s efficiency to a large extent (if at all).

Just be sure to keep your curtains open when your radiator is on and maybe for a while after that, as residual heat continues to flow into the room. 

Soon after, you could then pull your curtains over as a way of keeping this heat in. It’s really a matter of timing and getting the balancing act right. Once more, if in doubt, ask a heating engineer for advice (not every time you’re considering closing the curtains).

In this case, you could have curtains installed that do not travel down past your radiator and instead finish a little above them, and thus would not even be touching your radiator at all, like a well-behaved toddler in a museum. 

To save on money, you could even have your existing curtains hemmed by a haberdasher to make them shorter.

One way or another, shorter curtains (so long as the bottom of the curtains is at least a little higher than the top of your radiator) can be pulled over whether or not your radiator is on.

This way, you wouldn’t need to worry about them blocking heat whatsoever.

Is it Safe to Place Curtains In Front of Radiators? 

Before we discuss whether radiator covers or/and curtains would block radiator heat, it’s important to look at some safety points.

While unlikely, there is a small risk that a curtain placed in front of a radiator could catch fire. Although your radiator is there for heat, usually this is a bridge too far for people. 

This is more likely to occur if your curtain consists of flammable material and you have an electric radiator.

However, technically anything can catch fire from a radiator, so always ensure you take a cautious approach.

So, all in all, it is unlikely that your radiator could cause a curtain to catch fire (just from your radiator alone, if you try harder, it’s possible, but we don’t recommend trying). 

However, if in doubt, you can always consult a Gas Safe Register engineer to verify that the curtain material + radiator you have in mind is a safe match.

Thankfully, radiator covers are generally safe too. Again, if unsure, check with a professional.

Other Tips to Avoid Blocking a Radiator’s Heat

Radiator covers and curtains aren’t the only potential culprits that might prevent a radiator from heating a room sufficiently.

In fact, furniture is one of the most common ways of unknowingly blocking a radiator’s heat.

For safety and efficiency reasons, furniture should not be positioned too close to a radiator.

Large furniture items (e.g., cabinets, couches, beds, etc.) should be placed no less than 20cm from a nearby radiator.

This way, you’d be leaving a gap that would allow the convention to take place to a sufficient degree.

Moreover, the ‘no less than 20cm’ point should be emphasized further, because really, it’s preferable to avoid having furniture in any way close to a radiator.

Unless you have a mansion, this may not be possible or practical, but the further you can keep furniture from a radiator (while being practical and safe in other regards), the better.