Typically, central heating systems should be silent, except for an occasional little gurgling or clicking noise when it comes on. However, if you hear your radiator whistling or making a hissing noise, there may well be something that needs fixing.
Heating systems can make a variety of noises, and they may not necessarily be produced by the radiators themselves. The water in the pipes and radiators help sound travel around a house so where you hear a noise might not be the root of the problem.
Here are the most common noises that you might hear radiators make and what you can do to stop them:
A banging, clunking or ‘hammer’ sound coming from your heating system can indicate a couple of issues.
If using copper pipes, perhaps one pipe is slightly loose. They are usually secured firmly with the use of pipe clips, but if one is not as tight as it should, then it may knock as it heats up and cools down.
When water hits an obstacle from the wrong direction, such as a plunger in a TRV valve, this can make an annoying knocking sound. Valves are not always ‘bi-directional’ which means water should always flow into it from the correct side indicated on the fitting instructions.
Check that any required plastic baffles supplied with the radiator have been used. These are usually U shaped and sit on the brackets to separate the two pieces of metal from each other. Without them, the knocking sound might be the expansion of the metal from the radiator against the cooler metal of the wall bracket.
Even though the system has been filled with water, there will always be air left. If your radiator sounds a lot like someone gargling water, this could mean that air has accumulated in the top of the radiator and water is just bubbling in the void. This is a potential problem with tall, vertical radiators and towel rails as these are usually the highest points of the heating system on a particular floor so air will automatically find its way there. This can be solved by bleeding your radiator.
This can be dealt with fairly easily by waiting for the system to cool down so the air bubbles rise to the top, then bleeding all the radiators. You may have to do this more than once to completely get rid of all the bubbles. And it may be necessary to add a little more water back into the heating system to keep the pressure up.
If you hear banging sounds, then you might have one or more loose heating pipes. Water flowing through unclipped pipes tends to cause vibrations and hammering sounds which is what you hear coming from your radiator. Loose or vibrating pipes can often also cause rattling or banging noises, indicating that the pipes require tightening.
Inspect your radiator for any looseness or gaps and take steps to tighten your pipes and radiator valves. If the noises persist, you might want to contact a plumber for assistance.
Crackling, fizzing, banging or bubbling noises from your radiator is indicative of water pressure that’s too high or too low. You will need to either adjust the water pressure yourself or get in touch with a professional.
The ideal water pressure inside a boiler system should be somewhere between 1 and 2 bar – but to be certain, check the manual of your specific radiator to find out its optimum range.
Imbalanced radiators can cause uneven heat distribution and will not heat up at the same time as each other. As a result, some areas of your house will be colder than others. This, together with noises coming from the radiators, indicate that you need to balance your radiator.
Here’s a few steps on how to balance your radiators:
After following these steps, you should have a better balanced, quieter heating system that will heat your home more effectively.
Or call you plumber in to help.
If you’re still having trouble with a noisy central heating system, the addition of insulation for pipes can reduce noise transmission. Much of the noise that noisy water pipes generate comes from impact-related noise from water beating against the walls of the pipe.
Using foam insulation, soundproofing wraps or rubber pads will dampen vibrations and deaden the impact noise. As a result, you’ll have a practically soundless radiator.
It’s important that you address radiator noises as soon as they occur to avoid any long-term problems with your heating system.
If you’re thinking about changing your radiator and want to talk through your radiator design choices with an expert, pop into one of our radiator showrooms – we’d love to see you. We can guide you through our range and help you explore your options, whether you’re renovating, updating, or just curious about radiator possibilities.
We’ll help you find a radiator that fits your space, your heating system, and your sense of style perfectly.
Even the most beautiful designer radiators are subject to basic chemical reactions such as rust and...
Read more As winter approaches, it’s essential that your home is well-equipped for cold weather. And that means...
Read more Controlling your heating effectively is good for the wallet and, interestingly, better for your property. Here...
Read more Radiators are wonderfully robust objects. Indeed, many of the old cast iron radiators from the Victorian...
Read more
