A warm welcome with radiators and central heating
A centrally heated house provides a lovely warm welcoming atmosphere for guests in the colder months of the year and is also an efficient way to heat your home. For houses with no central heating plumbing already in place, electric radiators can be a good alternative to a central heating system. They are free standing units, usually filled with water, oil, or a mixture of water and chemicals. Although they are not part of a central system, they will do the same job of heating every room in the house. Assuming that you already have the plumbing necessary, then there are two main components to look at. One is the type of boiler to use and the other is the style of radiators that you wish to install in each room. If you have an older boiler already installed then it may well be worthwhile replacing it with a modern condensing boiler. These are designed to use the hot flue gases that are normally expelled into the atmosphere, to help heat up the water in the system, and so are more efficient that older style boilers. Another option to look at is whether to choose a boiler with a separate hot water tank or a combination boiler that heats hot water on demand. Any of these boilers will be capable of supplying older heating appliances or more modern units such as feature radiators designed to make a visual impact as well as to heat a room, with enough hot water.
Caring for your system
Whichever boiler type you choose, as far as maintenance tasks go, it is probably better to employ a certified professional to perform all but the most basic of operations on your boiler. You can either set up a service agreement with the company that supplies the unit, or there are many other companies offering such services at reasonable rates. They will normally carry out an annual inspection and perform routine maintenance tasks at a fixed cost to you. As far as the radiators go, you could either have these included in such an agreement if you prefer not to get involved, or you can look after them yourselves. Either way, for guesthouse owners, it is important to make sure that they are working properly throughout the year. Blackpool is a lovely area of the country but can be subject to cold spells at any time of year and so you can ever tell when you may need to turn on the radiators in the guest rooms. It is always a good idea to have some basic instructions on how to use them pinned to the wall, as older guests can often find it quite confusing to have to deal with strange heating appliances while they are away on holiday. All of your guests will appreciate the extra thought you have put into making their stay as comfortable as possible and some hints and tips will ensure that they get the best out of the radiators in their room and are not too cold during the night.
Finding the best match
Apart from the basic functionality of the system, if you are running a guest house you will be concerned with the visual aspect of any heating appliances that are installed in the rooms used by guests, both bedrooms and communal areas. Bathrooms are probably the easiest of rooms to make a decision about as heated towel rails are very popular for both heating the room and providing somewhere to hang wet towels and dry them out quickly. For the rest of your property, it very much depends on how you have decorated it and what type of guests you are primarily aiming at attracting. Some of the contemporary designs can look great in a more modern setting and are popular with younger professionals and businessmen in general. More conventional column radiators will look better in an older style property and probably go down well with the sort of clients who are looking for a homely, family run guesthouse. If you would rather keep the heating system out of sight and out of mind then there are low level units, including ones that are designed to fit in a recessed channel and be flush with the floor. These are often a good choice to provide a nice warm welcome in a front entrance, across the width of the doorway. There are many other different types of radiators on the market today and you will be able to find some that are as wacky or as conventional as you desire.
The perfect fit
Another thing you will need to bear in mind when buying replacement units is that it is infinitely easier to replace old models with ones that fit the existing pipes, rather than having to pay a plumber to start moving them around or extending the existing pipe work. The column style models such as traditional cast iron radiators come in a variety of sizes and are quite easy to have custom made if necessary. You will especially wish to avoid any major renovations to your guesthouse after you have opened for business as these can be very off-putting for paying guests who were looking forward to a peaceful break away from the pressures of life at home. Radiators and boilers should also be rated according to their maximum heat output so you can work out what equipment you will need. As a rough guide you can add the total output of all your wall units together, add about 5000 BTUs for hot water needs and this gives you a figure that should be below your boiler’s maximum output rating. This is only a rough estimate though and you will need to make extra allowances for things such as pipe runs to your radiators that have not been insulated as these will lose heat from the system. If you are at all unsure as to any of this then you should consult a heating engineer or the staff at your heating appliance supplier before committing yourself to anything.
