Radiators: Interior Walls or Exterior Walls?

[rentaturkishvilla]

I'm planning to get a new central heating system.

I propose to get a proper measurement of my rooms and check the build of the walls to determine exactly what size radiators are required for each room.

My other thought is to where I will position the radiators.

So I have a question, and I am guessing there are pros and cons with both, but I would like to get a general consensus.

Is it better to position radiators on the exterior wall or an interior wall. And if interior, should it be the wall facing opposite to the exterior wall?

I'm thinking an interior wall will not lose heat as much as if it was placed on an exterior wall, but would it be best to heat the exterior wall?

Which method is most likely going to keep the rooms warmer? Which method is most likely going to cost more money to run?

My rooms each have an exterior wall 3m in length with 3m Double Glazed windows. The walls are concrete sheets with cladding on the exterior. The rooms are (approx):

6m2 10m2 12m2

Your thoughts are welcome and appreciated!

Ricky

[R D S]

I'm far from an expert but I put all mine on internal walls. They sort of warm the 'core' of the house.

I imagine that putting them on outside walls then covering them with curtains is a waste of time.

Plus who wants to warm next door?

[NT]

I've always placed them on the exterior walls, under the windows.

[John Stumbles]

what do you mean by warmer - warm near the rad or warm everywhere in the room?

rads on external walls will minimise the temperature gradient across the room so it'll be more comfortable

the cheapest to run is no central heating :-)

next cheapest is rads on internal walls and huddle round them when it's cold

rads on ext walls will cost more to run but is the only way to heat the _whole_ room comfortably. If you've got high heat losses causing high running expenses then the way to reduce that is to improve draughtproofing and insulation.

(Underfloor heating also costs less to run for a given comfort level, but is usually more expensive and disruptive to fit to an existing house.)

[Dave Fawthrop]

| |I'm far from an expert but I put all mine on internal walls. |They sort of warm the 'core' of the house. | |I imagine that putting them on outside walls then covering them with |curtains is a waste of time.

Mine are conventionally on outside walls under windows, but with Aluminium paint on the back, to reduce radiation from radiator to wall.