Are stainless steel radiators efficient

Answer 1

Radiators are really convectors. Effectively they radiate much less heat than they convect, therefore whether they are painted white, black or made from stainless steel they all convect heat to a similar degree dependant of course to its design, a tube in tube design with a hollow centre that allows the room air to convect up through it would convect much more heat than a solid tube design, likewise you will see the btu's or watts output of such a radiator be listed as much higher than a solid tube design. The main advantages of stainless steel is that it does not rust on the exterior, the inside may corrode a little due to contaminant's in the water but to a much lessor degree than mild steel therefore they last much longer than a mild steel one and they need not be painted. The choice of stainless steel is therefore from a point of view of aesthetics, maintenance and longevity. The choice of finish either polished or brushed is again a matter of taste but one must keep in mind that once the polished type finish is scratched or scuffed it will be significantly harder to eliminate that damage than a brushed one, as the brushed is effectively 'scratched' by emery or stainless brushes to create that effect therefore one could simply use the correct grade emery paper to recreate the finish to match.