Screens for radiators

Batteries are not always pleasing with their appearance. Some models make you want to hide them. One of the options for solving the problem is grilles for heating radiators. There are a lot of options, for different wallets, in different types and styles.

A little about heating technology and grilles on batteries

Even if you need radiator grilles for decoration, do not forget that the batteries must heat the room. Any screen reduces heat transfer, even the most delicate and thin. Another question is that one will reduce the amount of transferred heat by 10-15%, and the other - by all 60% or even more. It is unlikely that you will want to sit in a beautiful, but cold room, so when choosing a decorative grille, you should also take into account how the heat will spread.

Heat spread

The principle of heat transfer from a radiator without a grill is shown in the figure. The main idea is that air should flow from below, pass along the battery, heat up, and go up. This is how our heating works. When choosing a lattice or screen, keep this in mind. For normal air circulation, it is necessary that there is a gap at the bottom, and there is no cover at the top. As a last resort, the cover should have a large perforated area.

Not a bad option - large holes allow air to move freely

But if you look at many of the decorative grilles, you can immediately tell that the room will be cold. This is especially true for grilles for heating radiators in the form of a box, which have walls on all sides. If they are very delicate, as in the photo above, there is not much trouble, but if they are made of solid wood (as in the photo below), with almost no perforation or with minimal holes, be prepared for heating inefficiency.

The top of the battery is covered with a solid layer of wood without holes

Wood, of course, is an aesthetic material, but it has a high heat capacity. Until the wood is heated, the room will be cold. And since the array is located above the radiator and there are no holes for circulation, the radiator under such a grill will be hot, but it will be cold in the room.

Tasks and materials

Most often, grilles on heating radiators are installed for decoration - not all heating devices look attractive, and the grilles are sometimes very beautiful. The second task often performed by battery screens is to cover up sharp and hard edges. This is true in families with children, especially if old-style cast-iron radiators are installed, such as "accordion". Their form is thermally dangerous, and the view is unattractive, they will be in place only in loft-style premises.

Grilles for heating radiators are made from different materials:

• Metal screens for batteries are produced in large quantities. They are made from thin sheet steel, which is then coated with paint. For the most part, they cost a little, but they also look mediocre. The duration of operation depends on the quality of the paint. Powder enamels are preferable. They last longer and remain attractive for decades. From the point of view of influence on heating, metal screens for radiators are the best choice. The metal heats up quickly, and then itself begins to radiate heat. So the option is inexpensive (usually) and does not greatly affect the room temperature (in the presence of perforations).
  

  The most common form, and the drawing can be any

• Forged lattices are very beautiful. But the forging is too delicate, so some kind of background is required, and it is often made in contrast to highlight the forged elements. To ensure normal air circulation, it makes sense to make the "background" from a metal perforated sheet.
  

  Forging is very beautiful

• Wooden bars and screens. Wood has always been and remains a premium material. The high plasticity of the material allows them to be made in different styles and shapes. And although there are inexpensive products made of wood, they look very good. But, as mentioned above, a radiator closed from all sides with wood transfers little heat to the room.
  

  The tree always looks solid

• MDF and HDF. For manufacturing, laminated sheet materials are used. It should be said that binders are not used in the production of MDF and HDF. The softened wood fibers are pressed, in the process lignin is released - a natural binder contained in wood. Lignin and glues fibers. So both of these materials are completely safe. If we know MDF products more or less well, then HDF is unfamiliar material for many. It differs from MDF only in terms of pressing. It is molded under higher pressure, as a result, it turns out to be very thin (3-4 mm), but more dense and uniform. HDF keeps its shape well, because openwork grilles for heating radiators are often made from HDF. From the point of view of the effect on heating, they are slightly better than wood - the layer is thinner, the perforations are usually larger.
  

  Openwork decorative grilles for batteries are usually made from MDF and HDF

• Plastic. Plastic products are most often used in bathrooms and toilets. This material is the most hygienic, it can be washed an unlimited number of times. For manufacturing, heat-resistant plastic is used, which is not afraid of heating up to 60-80 ° C. If the grill slats are installed at an angle, as in the photo, the heating will work efficiently. Air flows through the slots unhindered. It all depends on how the cover is made.
  

  Plastic is well washed, durable and unpretentious

• Glass screens for radiators appeared several years ago. They are not ideal in terms of heating, but they have an attractive appearance. They are made of special tempered glass, matte or apply a pattern.
  

  Glass screen for radiators

Used in the manufacture of decorative radiator grilles and more exotic materials. For example, bamboo and rattan. Such products are more demanding for interiors and are rare.

Rattan screen on wood frame

There are also combined grilles. Most often there is a wooden frame on which some kind of decorative mesh is stretched. Bamboo and rattan braids are most often attached to such a frame. MDF and HDF panels are usually mounted on a wooden frame.

Types and forms

In addition to different materials, heating radiator grilles come in different designs. All this together creates a huge number of options.

• Flat screens. Most often used if the radiator is installed in a niche. In this case, the flat panel is attached to the bars attached to the perimeter of the niche. In addition, glass screens for batteries also have this shape, but they are attached to special pins embedded in the wall. Decorative grilles for heating radiators of this type are also called "facades".
  

  Flat screens are installed if the radiator is hidden in a niche

• Hinged screens. There are two types:
  • With top cover. They are usually used for accordion-type batteries if the radiator protrudes beyond the windowsill. The shape of the cover is made in such a way that the grille can be easily attached to the radiator.
  • Without cover. Attaches to the top battery manifold with hooks that are attached to the bezel.
    

    Hanging grates

• Lattice box. From the point of view of heating, this is far from the best option, since air circulation is difficult. Set if you want to close the side of the radiator. These lattices can be made in the form of a piece of furniture, most often a chest of drawers or cabinet. If at the same time they can stand on their own, without support (as in the photo below), they are also called attachments. There are also boxes that require fixing on the wall - they do not have legs.For better heat dissipation under the lid and above the floor, a 3-5 cm wide gap is made in the grid-box. It is also a good idea to make a hole in the upper lid.
  

  Attached grill-box for radiator

These are only the main types of screens and grilles that cover radiators. Imagination is endless, there are very interesting models, but they are most often made by craftsmen with their own hands.

Homemade screen - original idea

Often the price plays an important role when choosing a screen for a radiator. The price range in this segment is more than significant - from 230 rubles for a metal hinged screen, up to 8,000 rubles for a glass one. Some prices are shown in the table.

Mounting features

Radiator grilles should be mounted so that you can easily and quickly access heating devices and pipes. From time to time, at least twice a year, the elements of the heating system must be cleaned of dirt and dust, so access is necessary. In addition, emergency situations arise from time to time. In this case, a quick reaction is required and there is no time to unscrew the fasteners. Therefore, try to come up with a mounting system that allows you to remove the screen in one motion.

Attached and mounted

The easiest way is with hinged or attached screens. They take off / move in seconds. But the flat, covering radiators in niches and box screens, which are attached to the wall, are the most problematic. But even here everything is solved simply. You can fix the box to the wall using two strips: one on the box, the other on the wall. The whole secret is that the planks have a beveled upper edge (you can see in the figure). The one that is nailed to the wall has a slope towards the wall, which is on the box - the bevel is towards the lattice. When the box is put in place, it looks like a lock.

How to fix a screen box for a heating radiator on the wall

Another option is to fix metal plates on one of the strips, and magnets on the other. Or attach not a wooden plank to the wall, but a metal corner, for example.

In the case of flat screens, the solution may be the same - metal plates and magnets. Another option is hooks and loops. It is easy to implement, but not very convenient to use: while you get into the loops, you have to suffer. There is also a difficult to install, but convenient way: to make a screen by type sliding doors.

Sliding screens for radiators

You can take the guides that are sold for furniture doors, install them, insert the screens into the corresponding grooves. If you do not plan to actively use a niche near the battery, you can not install the roller mechanisms, but it will be difficult to move it away. This method, by the way, can be applied to the lattice-box. Then it can be nailed to the wall "tightly", and the front wall can be made movable.

Interesting design options for screens for batteries: photo ideas

In addition to the technical side of the issue, aesthetic is no less important. There are grilles and screens that are more of a design element than a technical detail. Some of them are in the photo.

The decorative panel that covers the radiator itself looks like a work of an avant-garde sculptor

Looks like a chest from a fairy tale. This is done using laser cutting

Openwork always looks attractive

A design option for a grille for heating radiators in a modern style

Backlighting is an original idea

Repeating the pattern on the wallpaper is a stylish solution

Make not just an attachment box, but a functional thing

Glass screens can be with any pattern, even a landscape, even an ornament, even your personal photo

Stylish version of a metal screen for minimalism and hi-tech rooms