I-Nove heated stretch ceiling project in Gif-sur-Yvette

Replacing convectors, not adding a system

Many houses from the seventies and eighties are heated by wall-mounted electric convectors. The subject is therefore not installing a heating system, it is removing one that still works but consumes badly and occupies the walls.

What you get back by removing the convectors

A run of wall under each window, freedom to place furniture, and the end of the black marks that climb above the units. That last point is a direct consequence of air circulation, and it goes away with it.

The existing circuit

A convector is fed by a dedicated circuit sized for its power. That circuit is the starting point of the study, and the comparison between power removed and power installed is made room by room, never as a total.

Control, which changes everything

Old convectors often work on off or full, with a swing of several degrees. A connected thermostat driving a radiant surface works within a narrow band, and a good share of the saving comes from that.

The order of works

The ceiling goes in before the wall finishes, since the removed convectors leave connection points to make good. Dealing with both in the same operation avoids painting the same walls twice.

What becomes of the old position

Once the convector is removed, a cable outlet and two fixing points remain. Making good is light work, but it must be in the quotation: this is typically the forgotten detail that leaves a job ninety-nine per cent finished for three weeks.

Control is presented on the thermostat scenarios page, and the principle on the passive heating page.