Close the radiator. How to close radiators of a heating system and maintain heat flow conversion

When arranging the interior space and creating a unique interior, the question often arises of how to cover the radiators so that the radiators fit harmoniously into the holistic interior picture of the room.

Heating systems of any room must release heat as much as possible, heating it.

At the same time, their design must correspond to the holistic concept of the room.

Ideally, a beautiful screen should not only solve the problem of how to close the battery, but also increase the heat transfer of the radiator.

How to disguise a battery in a room?

Radiators and heating system pipes do not decorate the interiors of any room, so many owners strive to somehow cover their heating device. This needs to be done aesthetically and effectively, taking into account all the nuances.

In the old days, radiators and heating pipes were beautifully painted white, which was periodically refreshed by tinting.

Today the elements of the heating system white against the backdrop of colored walls they don’t look very attractive.

Such batteries are more organically combined with light walls, fitting into the overall color scheme.

If there are plain walls of different colors inside the apartment, you can choose the most suitable heat-resistant paint.

With the right color scheme, radiators and pipes dissolve inside general design premises.

When the wallpaper is decorated with various patterns, individual elements of the designs can be placed directly on the radiator.

The simplest solution in this case is to stick strips of such wallpaper on its façade surface.

Numerous ideas on how to close radiators can be viewed in photos in design catalogs.

The most popular options may be as follows:

  • masking heating elements inside a lattice functional structure: chest of drawers, cabinet, side shelves;
  • decorating a battery under the guise of a fireplace using wooden frame and special film stickers;
  • placing the radiator inside a niche, which is covered with a wall-to-wall screen;
  • arrangement of a table above a niche with a battery;
  • use of large-width attached lattice screens made of wood and MDF;
  • device of a glass screen made of translucent glass, decorated with a pattern;
  • use of various hanging structures.

In addition to providing efficient heating home or apartment, it is important to think of an attractive and practical design that would please aesthetically while maintaining safety.

For example, in a children's room it is important to protect the child from sharp corners and reduce the risk of burns.

Thermal aspects

Heating of a room occurs due to physical processes that have two components:

  • infrared radiation that transmits directly thermal energy objects;
  • circulation of heated air displacing the cold component.

From the point of view of effective heat distribution, it is best to close the radiators with your own hands using a screen in the form of a grid with large cells.

With such a barrier arrangement, both processes proceed efficiently with minimal heat loss.

The positive effect will be enhanced by thermal insulation placed on the wall, which reflects heat, returning it back into the room. The cold air that enters from below rises to the top as it warms up.

To prevent stagnation warm air Under the window sill, it is recommended to install a canopy on top of the screen that would direct warm air into the room.

On top, two metal plates will be very useful, which increase the efficiency of removing warm air from the front side of the radiator.

Thus, a correctly installed grid, taking into account the laws of thermal engineering, improves thermal efficiency, which is often much higher than that of an open battery.

Design issues when installing a heating system

The issue of design of radiators inside different rooms can be viewed from two sides:

  • in case of radiator replacement;
  • in case of masking of pipes and the battery itself.

If it is necessary and possible to replace heating batteries, you can choose an attractive room design, which would involve the use of designer radiators.

In this case, such heating elements do not need to be covered, since they will represent an important stylish detail of the entire interior.

In case of repair without replacement of sanitary equipment, there are various options, allowing the apartment owner to choose ways to decorate the heating radiator.

They can be the following methods:

  • painting, which allows you to bring radiators into line with the general color background. When carrying out such procedures, it is important to make sure that the radiators stylistically fit into the overall concept of the interior;
  • plastic grilles are attractive due to their low price, but when heated they can release harmful substances;
  • a glass panel made of translucent glass with photo printing applied, covering the front side of the battery, is attached to the wall using metal brackets. By leaving free space for air circulation, it limits infrared radiation;
  • hanging screens are the easiest way to mask a radiator, although they do not solve problems with supply pipes and limit air circulation and infrared radiation;
  • flat screens can be presented in different options: with carvings, forging, patterns, simply lattice;
  • The screen-box, in addition to its aesthetic appeal, can serve as furniture. It is important to maintain the lattice structure on top and on the front side.

Decoration of radiators and heating pipes in different rooms

In the bathroom, the problem of masking pipes and radiators can be solved in two ways:

  • hide these elements inside cabinets and other pieces of furniture;
  • cover the heating elements with a screen or box.

In the first case, decorative pieces of furniture, in addition to their aesthetic function, can serve as a place to store hygiene items and bath towels.

For the second option, gratings made of plastic, MDF, HDF, and glass screens are suitable. In any case, it is important to use materials that are resistant to moisture.

There are several ways to close the battery in the kitchen, but priority will be given to options that allow you to make the most of the protective structures.

Firstly, you can expand the window sill, which could serve as a countertop. In this case, it is recommended to cover the radiator itself with a metal screen.

In small kitchens, such solutions are very useful, since this way you can significantly save space.

Secondly, you can make a decorative side table from a material that is resistant to high temperatures. With this solution, it is important to ensure free air circulation from above and below.

A fairly functional device that can be used to cover a kitchen radiator is a hanging screen.

When cleaning or repairing, it can be easily removed, providing full access to the heating device.

When installed it has an attractive appearance, adding stylistic advantages to the kitchen space.

A flat screen mounted on a stand or attached with self-tapping screws to a window sill will hide the radiator and add aesthetic appeal to the kitchen design.

Today's market offers a wide variety of such products in different styles.

Using the box, you can make a kitchen radiator in the room into a small table or even a bench. Based on it, you can make a frame for a decorative screen in the form of a fireplace.

Thus, the appearance, shape and functionality of devices that hide the battery in the room depend on the imagination of the homeowners.

The main thing is to adhere to technological feasibility when creating an aesthetically attractive design.

The solution to the problem of how to close batteries, which do not always have an elegant, decorative and attractive appearance, must take into account not only the aesthetic component. What looks good in a photo can actually lead to a significant decrease in the temperature in the house. It is important to take into account that in addition to a purely decorative function, the panel (screen, box), which helps to decorate heating appliances, also serves an important functional purpose in families with small children, protecting the child both from burns and the sharp corners of the radiator. Therefore, we will consider the decor of the radiator in the room from the perspective of three specialists at once - a designer, a heating engineer and a plumber

The problem is how to hide it in the apartment Radiator and the pipe supplying coolant can be considered from two aspects. The first one is the day before overhaul, when it is possible (and necessary) to replace the battery. In this case, you can select and install designer batteries and then the issue will disappear by itself, and the heating efficiency will not decrease (more on this below). For example, if we are talking about a room in a classic victorian style, then here without cast iron batteries, powerful, massive, on a stand, casting in sections is indispensable - such radiators will become a stylish detail of the overall interior.

Another thing is when the repair does not involve replacing the plumbing, in this case there are several options for how and with what to close the battery.

Painting

The easiest way to hide the battery is to simply paint it to match the wall near which the radiator is mounted. You just need to purchase special paint for painting batteries. This is an option when radiators match the overall style of the room

Hanging screens

Screen box

Allows you to completely decorate the entire heating radiator, while you can simply make such a screen for the battery yourself from wood, the diagram is shown in Fig. 1.

At the same time, the box can not only hide an aesthetically unsightly radiator, but also act as additional element furniture, for example, stands for vases, shelves, or can become part of rack or console. A decorative wooden box can be made so that it fully matches the style and decor of the room. Its main disadvantage is the closed top, which significantly reduces the efficiency of convection. In addition, the tree dries out when the temperature changes. In this regard, screens (boxes) made of MDF, which are both cheaper and more durable, look preferable.

Advice! If the radiator is located far enough from the wall, then by combining a window sill and a frame, you can make a bench for romantic gatherings by the window.

Plastic gratings

Cheap, but at the same time definitely not for residential premises, they will hide the battery/pipe, but when heated they can release compounds dangerous to humans, especially if the panel (grid) is made of cheap plastic by a “gray” manufacturer.

Advice! Plastic screens are suitable for non-residential premises, taking into account resistance to high humidity- For bathrooms.

Glass screen

A glass panel, as a rule, is a rectangular sheet made of translucent thick glass, which is attached to the wall with steel holders. Making it possible to decorate the heating device from the front, it leaves open space below and above and does not interfere with free air convection. A popular solution is a glass panel with photo printing.

The main task of a heating radiator is to heat the room, which it does by a combination of two methods. The first is infrared radiation, in which heat is transferred directly to objects located in the room. It is this thermal energy that we feel when we bring our hands close to the battery. The second method is convection, by heating the air, which, rising upward, displaces the cold air, thus organizing air circulation in the room, which leads to a more or less uniform distribution of temperature.

Therefore, you should immediately decide on the main thing - no matter what method is chosen to hide pipes and radiators in the apartment, any decoration of the radiator will definitely lead to a loss of heater power. A simple example is installing a glass screen that almost completely blocks infrared radiation. And the larger the solid (without holes) area of ​​the cover (screen) on the battery, the “deeper” the battery is hidden, the more significant the losses will be. Solid (solid, without holes) boxes on top of the radiator are especially unacceptable - because they block the warm air rising upward. The photo below shows a particularly unfortunate design designed to decorate the battery.

On the one hand, it never fully fulfills its role - the supply pipe is very clearly visible. On the other hand, there are very small holes that significantly reduce the movement (convection) of warm air, and a solid screen (even a metal one) blocked thermal radiation. That is why, from the point of view of thermal engineering, the ideal choice is a panel made as a coarse mesh.

In Fig. Figure 2 shows a cross-section of an almost optimal grille model for a heating radiator.

Infrared (also known as direct thermal) radiation, indicated by red arrows (3), passes through the grating (D) with minimal losses. It is worth paying attention to the thermal insulation screen (A), which reflects heat (part infrared radiation) and, instead of aimlessly heating the walls, returns it back to the room.

Cold air (indicated by blue arrow 1), entering from below, heats up and rises. To prevent heated air from stagnating under the window sill, forming a thermal cushion that blocks convection, install a visor (B) that directs the air flow outward. It is also worth installing an injector (two metal plates) in the upper part, which allows heated air to be removed from the front side of the radiator. It is especially effective when high temperatures, due to the narrowing at the top, the draft increases significantly and the volume of exhaust air increases significantly. Despite the installed grid, the overall energy efficiency of such a design will be significantly higher than with simply installing the battery near the wall.

Second, no less important point– accessibility of the radiator and supply pipes. It's no secret that the battery is one of the potential sources of problems in the apartment. Any radiator can leak - there are many reasons for this, from water hammer to poor quality material. In addition, given the low quality of the coolant (water), it may be necessary to remove the battery in order to wash it - otherwise, the number of actively heating sections will be constantly reduced. So, from a plumbing point of view, the best cover (panel) for the battery should provide easy access to the radiator - either not have a permanent fastening, or be attached.

Advice! At the very least, it is necessary to install a “revision” (plastic door), which will give access to the place where the pipe is supplied to the radiator - as experience shows, this is the weakest point in the entire system.

How to close the battery - we look at the options in the video:

Reading time ≈ 3 minutes

Every apartment and house has heating radiators that effectively heat the room in cold weather, but do not always have an attractive appearance. In most cases, no matter how modern the external design of the batteries is, they still do not fit into the overall picture of the interior.

Nowadays, when the market finishing materials offers a lot of options for interior decoration; the question of how to hide the batteries does not require much thought and is solved quite simply.

Decorative screens for radiators

Most often, the radiator is located under the window, where unaesthetic pipes can be hidden using decorative panels, or screens. Today this is perhaps the most common way of decorating radiators, due to the ease of implementation and the huge variety of options offered.

In addition to excellent aesthetic qualities, battery panels reduce the spread of infrared radiation, and in some cases, increase the heat transfer of radiators. In addition, a screen for radiators, as in the photo, increases the safety of the room as a whole, especially for families with small children, where there is always a risk of thermal burns.

A radiator covered with a decorative screen does not require constant cleaning from dust and dirt; it is enough just to periodically remove dust from the surface of the panels.

A wide range of ready-made battery screens are available in building and finishing materials stores. There are also companies that manufacture custom-made screens, according to individual sizes and taking into account the wishes of the client. One way or another, we get a lot of options on how to close the heating radiators in our apartment in a beautiful and original way.

Typically, screens for decorating radiators are made of plastic or of stainless steel, less often - made of glass or wood. Each of these materials has its own advantages in operation. Thus, metal screens have excellent ability to transfer heat and are particularly durable. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to install, but, alas, they do not have high aesthetic qualities.

Glass screens for radiators add lightness to the interior. The glass can be glossy or matte, and can be tinted, painted, or applied with decorative designs using photo printing techniques.

Plastic screens are characterized by affordability and practicality, but such products are far from shining with their durability. When exposed to heat, plastic quickly becomes unusable, so the average service life of plastic screens is about 6 years.

Wooden screens are distinguished by their ability to create special comfort in a room. Such products can be very well matched to the tone of the surrounding furniture, and the design of the screen itself, which is a kind of wickerwork made of wooden planks, looks very stylish.

One way or another, a room with a well-decorated radiator takes on a complete look, in which all interior items are in complete harmony with each other.

Video


You can also make a decorative screen with your own hands - just take measurements from the radiator and build a special box according to these dimensions that will cover the battery. The photo shows what such a screen might look like, and the video will help you visualize how to make it step by step.


As for materials, wood and fiberboard are suitable for this purpose. medium density or drywall. The latter is considered the simplest, most affordable and convenient material to work with. Drywall is especially good because it allows different variants finishing- it can be painted, primed, covered with decorative film, wallpaper or decorated with stucco.

In short, to the question of how to hide batteries in an apartment, there is a lot original solutions, and choosing the most suitable one is a purely individual matter, focused on your tastes and preferences.

Screens and decorative grilles, matched to the interior of the room, make it possible to make massive heating radiators invisible. Similar disguise in apartments and residential buildings necessary to satisfy the aesthetic needs of residents. Whereas in kindergartens, schools and other institutions where children may be present, heating radiator guards are installed without fail to ensure their safety. From the wide range of ready-made screens sold in hardware stores, the buyer cannot make a choice for a long time, because he cannot understand what is the best way to cover the radiator.

For residential premises and offices, many choose cheap plastic screens produced in various color solutions, facilitating the selection of grilles for the interior. In institutions, only wooden screens made from natural wood are allowed.

The view of an open window should not be overshadowed by heating devices, which can be easily hidden behind decorative screens

Types of decorative grilles and screens

Based design features All screens designed to mask heating radiators can be divided into several groups:

  • hinged screens with or without covers are used to cover cast-iron batteries located in a niche under the window sills or protruding slightly forward;
  • flat screens are suitable for enclosing radiators hidden deep in niches;
  • screens in the form of an attached box allow you to completely hide the installation location of the heating device.

Fences for batteries are also divided according to the material of manufacture.

Decorative grilles can be:

  • metal;
  • plastic;
  • wooden;
  • glass.

Making a box or false wall from plasterboard

Many residents who are renovating their apartment do not like not only the appearance of the radiators, but also the layout of the heating system pipes. The presence of a pipeline makes installation difficult suspended ceilings And floor coverings. Therefore, all wiring along with batteries can be hidden behind a false wall made of plasterboard.

If every square centimeter of usable space in a room is saved, then instead of a false wall, boxes are made from the same material. Let's look at how to cover a heating radiator with plasterboard with your own hands.

Tools and necessary materials

To install the structure you will need the following tools and building materials:

  • tape measure and pencil;
  • screwdriver;
  • metal scissors;
  • level;
  • screws and dowels;
  • drywall;
  • UD and CD profile;
  • decorative lattice.

The procedure for carrying out installation work

If the heating radiator is placed in a niche located under the window sill, then to disguise it it is necessary to build a profile frame around the perimeter of this recess. In this case, using the UD guide profile, attached to the bottom of the window sill, to the floor and walls with self-tapping screws, a single frame is created.

The front edge of the frame is deepened by 13 mm, which allows, after screwing the drywall, to obtain a surface that coincides with the wall.

Important! Next, it is vertically inserted into the designed frame on both sides. heating radiator CD profile. Moreover, the distance between these profiles should slightly exceed the dimensions of the decorative grille.

Using sheets of plasterboard sewn onto a profile frame, it is possible to hide the radiator and heating wiring behind a false wall

Then, four sections of the UD profile, the length of which is 6 cm, are sewn onto the vertical CD profiles. The sections must be placed with the open side facing the radiator, since they will serve as frames into which horizontal profiles will be inserted, indicating the height of the decorative frame. Depending on the actual size of the existing niche, you can install additional vertical CD profiles every 60 cm.

After completing the preparation of the frame, it is covered with sheets of plasterboard, which are puttied and a decorative lattice is hung in the allotted space. The profiles are fastened together with small LM screws.

Important! It is necessary to foresee in advance how to cover heating radiators with plasterboard so that heating devices and the connections were provided with free access for their repair and maintenance.

Elements heating system hidden in boxes constructed of plasterboard

Advantages of installing decorative grilles on heating radiators

  • Reducing dust on batteries that have a difficult shape to clean and wash.
  • Selecting a protective screen that matches the style and material of the room’s interior.
  • Protecting small children from possible bruises when falling on metal devices, as well as from burns that can be caused by touching them.
  • Ensuring uniform distribution of warm air flows throughout the room.
  • A quick way to disguise old batteries that don't fit in general form renovated room.

All kinds of screens and decorative grilles allow you to close the heating radiator in the most the best way. Without denying that this is beautiful, some believe that the batteries should not be covered, since heat transfer is reduced significantly. However, in practice, this opinion is refuted by successfully operated grilles that do not prevent heat from escaping through their openings.