says David Wing, National Sales & Marketing Manager at market leader, Comyn Ching & Co (Solray) Ltd - manufacturer of Solray Radiant Panels.

Schools seeking an efficient and effective heating solution which frees up valuable wall space need look no further than high quality radiant heating panels for the answer.

Typically installed as an integral element within the ceiling or the wall fabric of a school or college building, radiant panels provide an ideal space-saving, high performance approach to heating. One which is superior in many respects to ordinary radiators. Indeed, radiant panel technology and its benefits are well-proven in a growing number of school and college projects across the UK.

When applied in open plan areas, such as, assembly halls, dance and drama studios, and in sports halls and gyms, the advantages of radiant panels quickly become clear. Ceiling installed radiant panels are especially popular in these cases because they help maximise all the available space in the area, whatever use the facility might be put to. At the same time, the radiant panel approach ensures that in sporting and other adrenaline-charged activities, the risk of children or young adults inadvertently running into wall-hung radiators and hurting themselves is effectively eliminated. Of course, this safety benefit is equally relevant to corridors and other high traffic areas within the school.

Radiant panels are also ideally suited to other parts of a typical school building. Science, CDT and home economics classrooms are a good example. In these areas, the wall space is often taken up by special bolt-down benches, wall storage cabinets, worktops or kitchen appliances. Here again, ceiling radiant panels can free up valuable wall space from unnecessary radiator clutter.

Another reason for the popularity of ceiling mounted radiant panels is their location - well beyond the reach of students. This removes any risk of children accidentally or deliberately tampering with or damaging the panels in any way. This impacts directly on lower maintenance and replacement costs for the school. Inherently clean panel design also helps in this respect. Ordinary radiators can be a breeding ground for germs. With radiant panels, there are no corners, ledges or joints where dirt, dust or bacteria can collect and the panels themselves present a simple wipe clean surface for quick and easy maintenance.

The overall result is that the space within the busy school environment is made to work as efficiently and safe as possible whilst staff, students and visitors receive all the warmth they need. In fact, numerous studies over they years have demonstrated that radiant panels provide a more efficient, even heat distribution than ordinary or low surface temperature radiators. This gentle and even radiant distribution also results in reduced air movement compared to other forms of heating; a factor which can benefit building occupants with asthma and other breathing difficulties.

Radiant panels also help in cutting the time and cost of heating system installation. They eliminate any requirement for boxing and also reduce the length of pipework runs needed for ordinary radiator installation. They can be fitted as a second fix item and their operation is simple to control with TRV's or standard HVAC controllers. Building services contractors and consultants also profit from panel versatility, because they can be used with low or medium temperature hot water systems, steam or electricity.

Solray Radiant Panels feature in hundreds of education buildings across the UK. Originally developed by Comyn Ching more than 70 years ago, Solray Radiant Panels have evolved through the generations into modern, highly efficient, state of the art designs. They can be tailor-made to the highest standards of quality and manufactured to suit specific project requirements at the company's London-based design and production facility.