How To Make Radiator Reflectors In 3 Simple Steps
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Radiator Reflectors are a simple way to help your radiator heat your rooms better. Here’s how you can make radiator reflectors in three simple steps using household items you probably already have.
If like me you are seriously concerned about the increasing cost of energy, you may be looking for ways to make your home more energy-efficient.
However, as times are tough, you might not have any extra spare cash to be spending on doing that, even though you know it’ll save money in the long run.
These radiator reflectors are easy and cheap to make from a few household items. The idea is that once in place, they reflect heat back into the room, rather than it being absorbed by the wall behind the radiator.
As much as 50% of heat can be lost this way, especially if the radiator is on an external wall.
If you don’t want to make radiator reflectors, they can be purchased quite cheaply, but with things as they are at the moment, I know that may even be a stretch for some people.
How To Make Radiator Reflectors In 3 Simple Steps
What you’ll need
- Large pieces (or pieces) of Cardboard
- Tape Measure
- Scissors or a penknife
- Marker pen or Sharpie
- Roll of Tinfoil
- Sellotape
Related Post: How To Get More Heat From Radiators
How To Make Radiator Reflectors
What we’re aiming to do when making a radiator reflector is create a T shape with a wide middle. The top of the ‘T’ sits on the wall brackets that attach the radiator to the wall and the middle slots down behind the radiator.
I have seen some people keep two thin edges so the end result looks more like an M shape with a wide middle, but this just wasn’t going to work for me as the side pieces would be very thin but also very visible.
- Find a piece of cardboard roughly the size of your radiator. Measure the distance between the two wall brackets fixing the radiator the wall and mark the same distance on your piece of card, around three-quarters of the way up and in the middle. I did this by eye but you could measure if you want to be exact.
- Cutaway the sides to create a T shape. Slot this in behind the radiator to make sure it fits snugly and trim any excess cardboard.
- Cover your cardboard ‘T’ in foil, ensuring the reflective side is facing outwards. This doesn’t need to be neat and tidy. I used sticky tape on the back just to ensure everything stayed in place. Once cover, slot in behind your radiator and enjoy a warmer house! Repeat with as many radiators as required.
As you can see, it doesn’t need to be neat or perfect! I whipped this up in under 10 minutes but of course, you could take more time if you wanted to.
The idea is that once in place, you can’t really see the radiator reflector unless you really look for it, as you can see from the image below.
Should the foil be touching the radiator or an inch or so ago be left?
I Pat. Thanks for your question. If you can manage a gap of just a few centimetres then that is best for allowing heat to circulate and be reflected back out into the room.