What are radiator valves and why do we need them?

What are radiator valves and why do we need them?

You need radiator valves to control the flow of hot water around your heating system. In layman's terms, they are two radiator taps, one adjustable and the other locked at the desired position. They are placed on all radiators attached to your hot water flow, so you can set different room temperatures around your home.

The adjustable valve controls the amount of hot water entering the radiator, the other, often referred to as a lockshield, balances your heating system by regulating how much heat the radiator delivers. Balancing radiators is a way of evenly sharing heat around the rooms in your home, by adjusting the lockshields on your radiators. This will be done by the heating engineer when you have a new system and/or radiators or radiator valves fitted, but it can be done by a competent DIYer. With the basics out of the way, there are additional choices to be made in terms of your radiator valve style, heat control, orientation and appearance.

Styles 

Traditional – Our ranges of Traditional Radiator Valves are designed to complement the more traditional styles of radiator, but this doesn’t mean you can’t have a traditional radiator valve on one of the more modern designs we offer. Designed and crafted in classical styles, these valves are most often ordered with cast iron and column radiators and appear to be old radiator valves, but they are of course brand new. 

Modern – Modern homes or homes with a modern décor, will be more likely to have designer radiators like aluminium, raw or bare metal column radiators, or radiators with an anthracite finish. By far the most popular are our huge range of white column radiators that are available in thousands of size combinations. Modern radiator valves have been created to both enhance the look and be economical and efficient.

Heat control 

Manual – Manual control simply means that you will be required to turn the handle when you want to adjust the temperature in a room. These are ideal in places where using a thermostatically controlled valve is not recommended, such as bathrooms. 

Thermostatic – We often get asked, “what is a TRV on a radiator?”. Thermostatic Radiator Valves, or TRVs, allow you to adjust the temperature of your room easily by pre-selecting your desired temperature and letting the radiator automatically achieve the desired heating level. TRVs are also noted for being more energy-efficient than manual valves.

Orientation 

Angled - Angled Radiator Valves are the go-to valves for most settings. They are ideal for most horizontal radiators where the pipes come from the floor or are run along the skirting boards. 

Straight - Straight Radiator Valves are perfect where the pipes come straight from the floor and into radiators with bottom inlets, most often found on heated towel rails and aluminium radiators. 

Corner - Corner radiator valves are for those that appreciate clean lines and a neat appearance. Where pipes have been chased into and come out of a wall, these give a very tidy appearance and with matching pipe covers can almost eliminate all unsightly pipework.

Appearance 

Finishes – We offer the biggest range of finishes in the UK, they include: • Anthracite • Antiqued • Antique brass • Black • Brass • Black nickel • Chrome • Copper • Nickel • Old English brass • Pewter • Polished brass • Polished nickel • Satin nickel • Unlaquered brass • White

With all the options and choices available, we believe we have the ideal radiator valves for any home and setting. Whether it’s the ever-popular Drayton TRV4, or a beautiful Angled Antique Brass Thermostatic Radiator Valve, it will be in stock and ready for fast delivery. In addition to Rad Valves, we also stock a range of accessories like Central Heating Automatic Bypass Valves, Compression Adapters, Radiator Extension Pipes, Decorator's Caps, Electric Elements & Variable Temperature Dual Fuel Conversion Kits, Drain Cocks or Drain Off Valves and many more products.