How does a radiator work?

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A radiator is part of a heating system. Mostly it is a metallic hollow body. This works by releasing the energy generated by the heating medium to the environment.

How does the heat consumer work?

Radiators, but also floor and wall heating, are heat consumers. One works independently heater not, but only as part of a complete heating system. In order to understand how a radiator works, it is therefore necessary to look at how the entire system works.

  • A classic heating system for heat generation and heat distribution consists of three main components. This includes the heat generator, the heat distributor and the consumer. In the case of oil and gas heating systems, the heat generator is usually a boiler that works with the respective fuels. If these are burned, heat is generated, which is given off to a medium.
  • With the help of a circulating pump, this water then transported to the radiators via pipes. Ultimately, the radiators give off the heat to the environment. The heat is distributed with the help of valves. These are small, permeable openings that are located in the pipelines and can be small or large depending on the temperature control. This changes the pipe cross-section so that either more or less water flows into the radiator.

The radiator gives off the heat

  • Radiators are heat consumers that give off heat to the room through convection and radiation. During this process, the cold ambient air is heated. A finned tube heater, for example, works according to this principle.
  • It is often assumed that a radiator should be evenly warm at every point. But this is not the case. Because by the fact that the energy is released by convection, the temperature drops towards the outlet valve. For this reason, every heater around the inlet valve is particularly warm, because this is where the heated carrier medium flows directly into it.
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  • However, if certain parts of the heater stay cold permanently while others get warm, air has probably formed. In this case, the heating is vented via the ventilation valve.
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