BATHROOMS
The new norm in bathroom radiators
The options available to heat a bathroom and keep the towels dry and warm too, has grown exponentially in the past few years. A towel warming radiator of some description is incorporated in virtually every new bathroom and in the majority of en-suites across the UK and Ireland. Chris Harvey, head of marketing at Stelrad Radiators has more
Pictured here is the Concord bathroom radiator
T
he radiator options today are many and the quality is impressive. You’ll find premium and designer radiators that may look very unlike the radiators of 20 years ago. Towel rails of today are not all chrome plated ladder rails
although they retain a reasonable part of the market. And bathroom radiators are available in a range of colours too – not just white. Today these are the ‘norm’ and Stelrad’s Designer range offers a selection of statement making radiators primarily for bathroom, wet room or en-suite facilities. Towel warmers are these days predominantly bathroom radiators, capable of warming the room as well as the towels, but this certainly wasn’t the case when they first made an appearance – the initial ladder towel warmers, usually in chrome finish. They normally warmed the towels OK but often failed to heat the space much further away from the radiator. When fitting a bathroom, or towel warming radiator, it is important to ensure that just like any radiator, in any other room in the home, it is correctly sized. This will often mean specifying and fitting a much larger capacity radiator than you would for a conventional steel panel type radiator – one with a much higher output than a standard radiator might deliver. Taller, vertical models can help deliver satisfactory levels of heat and
Trainingbrief I
nstallers find training very valuable for their career progression but struggle to fit it into their busy schedules, new research has shown. In a survey of hundreds of installers carried out
by boiler manufacturer Baxi, it emerged that 39% said they struggle to attend training courses as they simply don’t have the time. Other reasons included having nothing available nearby, and having planned to attend but cancelled due to time pressures.
Despite this, it’s clear that installers do sometimes manage to find the time to get down to their local training centre. The research also shows 51% believe training helps them to work more smartly and efficiently, whilst 49% enjoy getting tips and tricks from their peers. Steve Owen, national training manager at Baxi, comments: “We know training is a two-way street,
and that manufacturers have a responsibility to make their courses accessible, interesting and informative. Our research found that over half of installers strongly agreed that offering training demonstrates a commitment to them. “At Baxi we believe that the greater the installer’s knowledge of their trade, the more they
40 August 2018
can offer to their customers. Training offers installers the opportunity to network with their peers, share knowledge and experiences, and even potentially form new business relationships.” To help installers to learn at their convenience, Baxi now publishes regular videos across social media every Tuesday. Each week one of its trainers covers a different topic, ranging from servicing and maintenance to installation and repairs. At no more than 45 seconds in length, these bitesize lessons help bring the classroom to installers, wherever they are. However, there's no substitute for getting hands on and 'learning by doing', so it’s crucial that installers try to plan ahead and fit in training courses. Baxi offers a range of free, paid and accredited
courses from 17 training centres across the UK and Ireland.
www.heatingandventilating.net
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