What is a heat sink radiator & why should you have one?

When planning your central heating system, an often under-discussed element is the necessity of having what is known as a ‘heat sink’ radiator. A heat sink radiator is a rad you have in your heating system that has regular lockshield valves on it, rather than thermostatic radiator valves. You have a heat sink radiator to stop the boiler from overheating if all the thermostatic radiator valves on the heating system shut down. It also stops hot water in your system from becoming too hot. Thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) are automatic so they will shut down on their own. If they all shut down and you don’t have a bypass, then the boiler has nowhere to get rid of it’s heat. So you need to have a heat sink radiator that has just lockshields on it and that will allow the boiler to circulate hot water through that radiator and get rid of the heat. The most common place to have a heat sink rad is in the bathroom. The reason fo this is because you are most likely to leave a bathroom radiator (or heated towel rail) on all the time to dry off your wet towels, so it makes sense to have one there. Bearing all that in mind, if you do need to install a heat sink radiator, you'll find some excellent heat sink candidates in our Heated Towel Rail section. We have a choice of the standard ladder type rails in chrome, white and black and we also offer stainless steel rails with a whopping 25 year guarantee. We've also got a great range of designer and traditional rails which will be perfect as heat sink rads, whether your prefer the contemporary or old school look. Dry your towels and heat your room at the same time, all the while preventing your boiler from overheating! Don't forget to check our clearance section too for great deals on Delonghi radiators and heated towel rails The radiator featured in the main image is the 1200x500mm Pagnani Contemporary Chrome Heated Towel Rail. Article by Benjamin Clarke