For many years Stelrad’s Compact radiator range has been the best-selling radiator in the UK and Ireland. The Compact has evolved over the years improving its appearance and its efficiency and is nowadays anything but an ordinary radiator which speaks volumes for its on-going popularity. It’s a sleek, well designed and highly efficient radiator and continues to out-sell all other models.
But many people inside and outside the heating industry have not realised that this excellent radiator has been at the heart of many of the company’s premium panel radiators such as the Silhouette, Deco and Plan models in the popular Vita Series range of radiators – all Compacts, but with stylish fronts that give the radiators that individual designer look once installed in homes and businesses up and down the country. And that goes for the traditional horizontal models and the fast-growing market for vertical radiators. “We offer this one great radiator with a choice of four stylish fronts,” says Chris Harvey, Head of Marketing at the leading radiator company.
“Whether the style of the property they will heat dictates a regular radiator design or a flat fronted or horizontal or vertically lined casing, they all benefit from the heating instincts of the Compact radiator as the heating product behind the front that householders, visitors, business owners or customers see when they enter the room that is heated by the radiator."
"And all our radiators are designed to look good on any wall in any room these days – the old fashioned designs from twenty or more years ago have been largely consigned to the archives. No longer just heating appliances, they are often becoming focal points of the décor in a modern or retro-home.”
And whilst radiators used to be something of an afterthought – a heating system was perhaps just ‘a boiler and eight rads’ - these days more and more homeowners are having a say in the selection of their radiators having seen the insides of many more homes than was the case even a decade ago – with all the property and design programmes on TV, radiators are becoming an aspirational product – not just the fancy towel rail in the bathroom which is where style first crept into heating, but now in virtually every room in the home – especially in the kitchen, the main living room and the master bedroom – designer looking radiators are becoming ‘the norm’ with upgraded radiators bringing a certain style to these rooms that they didn’t used to display.
Even in conservatories, the radiators will be seen by friends and family and are increasingly being upgraded from a simple radiator to one with a little panache. “Whilst the Compact radiator is ‘the go-to option’ for many installers and very few homeowners with a say will object because they are striking radiators with clean, crisp lines, come in a wide variety of sizes and models and have neat rounded edges and corners and attractive grills, many people are willing to pay a little extra to transform their radiators into something a little bit more special,” says Chris Harvey.
“The addition of the front panel makes the radiator look every inch designer, it makes a big difference to many people and whilst they are all a breeze to fit as they have the same piping connections and brackets, the finished look of one of the ‘added extra’ radiators is enough to enthuse many homeowners and developers that are keen to up the ante when it comes to choosing a serious heating system.”
The difference in price is minimal and you could be recommending – or choosing a more fancy radiator that will improve the look of the home and the value of the property. It’s amazing what a new front can do to your heating system! www.stelrad.com
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