Traditionally these heating appliances were designed to be unobtrusive. They were supposed to do the job of keeping your home warm with the minimum of fuss and without drawing attention to themselves visually. Usually painted white to radiate heat more effectively, they are often sited behind furniture so as to be completely out of the way. Modern radiators however, are starting to come out of their shells so to speak, and display a more extrovert side of themselves. From flat panels that are formed into rippling waves, to more way out designs resembling contemporary sculpture, there are models to suit all tastes and homes. They are all designed to not only look great but perform efficiently too, so heating your house does not become a secondary concern when fitting these radiators. As with more traditional types, they come in a range of sizes too, so you can match the output of these units to the room sizes in your home; many of the tubular versions come with a variable number of tubes for this very reason. Floor to ceiling models with full length mirrors incorporated are great for bedrooms or living rooms. Quirky Italian design, in the shape of interlocking coat hangers, is a great update on heated towel rails for the bathroom. The better hotels in Somaliland should have an ample supply of towels and fresh bedding to make your stay there as comfortable as possible. If you require any additional supplies then the concierge should be able to help you with them.
Feeling hot, hot, hot
It does not matter how good looking your radiators are if they do not keep your home warm, as I mentioned above, and you should make sure that each unit you choose, has the correct output for the room you wish to put it in. You can check this by calculating the number of BTUs (British Thermal Units) that are required to heat any particular room, and then matching the result with a unit that is capable of outputting the required amount of heat. A quick search online will turn up sites with tables and calculators to help you do this, or you can enlist the help of the company you are buying your radiators from. There are two basic ways of controlling how hot your house gets with a central heating system. You can either rely on a central thermostat to control the entire system, which has the advantage of simplicity, or you can install individual thermostatic regulator valves to each appliance, that will shut them off when that room reaches the required temperature. These valves can be bought separately and are easy to install and have the advantage of allowing you to choose different temperatures for each room in the house. Most people will prefer their bathroom to be warmer than their kitchen for example, so it is nice to have this flexibility in the system. You should have no problem finding the right valves, whether for contemporary feature radiators, like those discussed above, or more conventional ones.
Keeping the heat in
There are various measures that you can take to ensure that the heat generated by your system is retained in the house, rather than being dissipated through the external walls that radiators are sometimes situated on, and being lost in the outside atmosphere. Some of these, such as water pipe insulation, can also help to protect your house against damage when you are away for a period of time during the cold winter months. No matter how good our central heating, we all dream of a few hot sunny weeks in the middle of the winter and a country like Somaliland, in the Horn of Africa, has just the type of weather to cheer you up. During our winter, it can still reach a very pleasant 26 degrees Celsius there, which is akin to a warm summer�s day in the UK. Radiators are not a common feature in any buildings there, for obvious reasons, although air conditioning is a must in the summer months for those of us used to a rather cooler climate. April to June and October to November are the rainy seasons in Somaliland, so you may wish to travel outside of these times if you are thinking of visiting, and are not keen on getting wet. There are plenty of modern hotels to choose from in the capital city of Hargeisa and they are equipped with conveniences such as satellite TV, high speed wireless internet access and hot water, if not radiators!
Maintaining your system
As far as hot water boilers go, these are best looked after by a certified engineer, but the heating appliances in each room are fairly simple to maintain yourself, if you so wish. Cast iron radiators, are one of the simpler types to look after and these are often found in older style properties and large hotels, such as those that you may choose to stay at on your trip to Somaliland. As far as getting there goes, one of the easiest routes is via Dubai in the UAE. There is an international airport at Hargeisa, Burao and Berbera, so you have a number of choices as to which one to fly to. While you are away you should turn all the radiators off in your house, as long as you have insulated any vulnerable pipes to prevent them bursting in very cold weather. You will not experience any weather colder than about fifteen degrees in Somaliland so it is pleasant enough to be out and about in without having to wrap up warm. One of the attractions that you should try and see if you get the chance when you are there, is the Lass Gaal cave paintings that are very well preserved and date back to around 9000 BC. The only sort of radiators you are likely to see on your holiday here are the ones on the front of the jeeps that are a popular method of transport for the few citizens with money in this country.
