Can radiator foil behind your radiators cut energy bills?

Anything that insulates our homes without cranking up the temperature or spending fortunes is music to our ears. Cue… Radflek radiator reflectors! Ever thought about how much heat you lose in your house? These little sheets of reflective material are placed between the wall and the radiator to reflect the heat emitted.

You must have lots of burning questions, so let’s get straight into the answers.

What are Radflek radiator reflector foils?

Radflek is a revolutionary energy-saving radiator reflector that reflects 95% of the wasted heat energy radiated from the back of a radiator into your home. It’s made from laminated aluminium foil with a unique long-lasting coating.

The full reflector is made of an adhesive, a polyethylene core, another layer of adhesive, an aluminised sheet of polyester and a final special coating. This coating prevents oxidation and preserves high reflectivity. Simply fit the reflector panel behind the radiator for a fixed solution that will help save you money!

Why fit Radflek radiator foils?

Using Radflek radiator reflector foils means that there is less energy needed to heat your room, resulting in cheaper energy bills and a lower carbon footprint. Radflek is at least 23% more energy efficient than any saw-tooth reflector. And it will only take about a year to earn your money back!

How does Radflek work?

Radiators emit heat in all directions. When positioned against a wall, up to 40% of the heat released is directed towards the wall. Well that’s no good, is it? What a waste of energy and money – precious commodities. Installing a Radflek sheet between the radiator and the wall reduces the amount of heat wasted by reflecting at least 95% of that heat into the room instead.

Installing Radflek works on external and internal walls. On external walls, tests have shown that it reduces heat leaking through the wall outside, stopping waste. On internal walls, it will have the same effect where the temperature of the space on the other side of the wall is low (such as in a hallway or a neighbouring home in a terrace). Customers have also reported that Radflek brings the room to operating temperature more quickly.

It is most efficient when there is a gap between the wall and the radiator and between the wall and Radflek so that it can reflect the heat emitted. The optimum air gap is around 25mm but customers have reported that gaps of 10mm were still effective.

What are the savings?

Radflek will last you 60 years and typically, it will pay for itself in about a year and in some cases, get £40 payback, which is fantastic! As for carbon savings, it will depend on a few things such as fuel type, wall type and how often you switch your heating on. For a typical household, an 8-sheet pack of Radflek will annually save you up to 71kg of CO2.

A single sheet of Radflek will save you 8.9kg of CO2 per year or up to 83 kWh of energy per year. In comparison, saw-toothed reflectors of the equivalent size will only save you 7.2kg of CO2 per year.

Are Radflek radiator reflectors easy to install? 

The hassle-free installation process only takes minutes! There’s no need to remove your radiator, stick anything to your wall or hire professional installers – Radflek just hangs from the wall brackets behind your radiator. It won’t ruin your decor either, once it’s been installed you can’t see a thing.

You can install Radflek on all kinds of radiators including floor-standing and curved. Even if you have a windowsill or shelf nearby, it can still be installed with ease.

Keeping them in top-notch condition only requires occasional cleaning with a damp cloth to remove the dust. And this will keep Radflek working for years, reducing your heating bills year after year.

Why use radiator foils rather than just traditional tinfoil?

Traditional tinfoil is manufactured from rolled aluminium, which when unrolled, has high reflectivity typically between 80% and 90%. When exposed to the atmosphere, it has a thin layer of aluminium oxide on its surface. This is porous and can quickly become contaminated by atmospheric pollution and water vapour.

It soon dulls the initial bright appearance of tinfoil and once it becomes dull from atmospheric contamination, its reflectivity is reduced. In contrast, Radflek’s special long-lasting coating maintains its initial coating at 95% reflectivity for a lifetime of at least 60 years. We know this because Radflek has been independently tested by the BBA (British Board of Agrément) and the test data shows that Radflek is one of the most efficient radiator reflectors available on the market.

Plus, kitchen foil is much more flimsy as it’s not laminated like Radflek is, which has 250g burst strength.