Insulate heating and save energy costs: These are my experiences

Energy prices are higher than ever. That’s why many people want to save on heating costs by insulating behind the radiators. I have installed the so-called reflective foil in all rooms of my apartment and want to describe my experiences with it with you.

I always try to save as much energy as possible and have not only lowered the room temperature in the apartment to 19 degrees and installed smart radiator thermostats on each radiator so that I can control which room is heated and when, but also in August 2022 so-called reflective foil behind the radiators appropriate. After a month of heating with the additional insulation of the radiators, I can draw a small conclusion.

Does the insulation of the radiator bring anything?

Basically, I have to say that I am satisfied with the reflective foil behind the radiators. Especially in the study, where I sit next to the heater, I clearly feel that I can set the temperature 1-2 degrees lower and the Still feel the heat more intensely. The reflective foil ensures that the heat is reflected into the room and thus arrives in the room more effectively. Despite the same thermostat setting, the room is about 0.5 to 1 degree higher and the humidity about 10 percent lower.

However, my office is a rather small room at around 9 square meters. In the bedroom, living room and kitchen, the effect is not so noticeable. Although the radiators are bigger there, the little or hardly any positive effect there. I only notice from the temperature profile that the rooms heat up a little faster than before. This would also indicate that the reflective foil conducts the heat into the room and does not dissipate in the outer wall. I just don’t sit in front of it and accordingly don’t notice it directly on me. But the rooms are also much larger, so that the heat is distributed differently in the room.

You have to pay attention to this when insulating

Reflective film is relatively cheap. You can find them in hardware stores or on Amazon (look at Amazon). Such insulation is only worthwhile if you lives in an older building, where there is no external insulation of the outer wall – for example an unrenovated old building. If the house is well insulated, such a reflective foil or thick reflective panels will do you no good. But if you have an old building and the heating is also in a niche where the outer wall is correspondingly thinner, the effect should be significantly greater than in my case.

Regardless of whether you install reflective foil or thick reflective panels in your apartment or house, you have to glue them well. The foil or panels must be mounted on the wall with no gaps between them so cold air doesn’t collect there and the area starts to get moldy. This is not so easy when the heater is installed. I actually wanted to install the reflective foil when I was renovating the apartment, but then I was too lazy. But I managed to do it that way in the end – although it was a bit fiddly.

You can save electricity costs with a balcony power plant:

Have I saved heating costs?

In the end, that is the crucial question. According to my records, I used almost exactly 100 m³ of gas in November. That is 64 m³ less than last year in the same month. BUT I also lowered the room temperature by 2 degrees from 21 degrees to 19 degrees and installed a new apartment door. I also resealed all the old windows, which all have to be included in the total bill.

In the long run I should at least easily recoup the costs for the reflective foil and at least have a noticeable effect in the office that the heat reaches me in a more targeted manner. You will only have a big saving if you exhaust all possibilities and this includes in the first place the reduction of the room temperature. Checks the windows and doors to see if they are tight and heats intelligently. Hygrometers (look at Amazon) also help you keep an eye on the humidity, so you don’t run the risk of getting mold on the walls.