Brits are being told to put CRISP packets behind their radiators

"Mark McShane, heating expert at Boiler Cover UK, says homeowners should place empty crisp packets behind their radiators. Once they've had a quick rinse, the little rectangles of metallised plastic film should be stuck with tape to the wall directly behind the radiator. According McShane, crisp packet material reflects heat back towards the centre of the room, preventing it from escaping through the walls."

"Professor Ronita Bardhan, a sustainable environments researcher at the University of Cambridge, called the trick 'a creative idea'. But it's one that 'highlights how easily scientific principles can be misinterpreted when adapted for household hacks' and it could be dangerous. 'The idea of putting crisp packets behind radiators did make me chuckle,' Professor Bardhan told the Daily Mail. 'There is some scientific logic to the use of reflective materials behind radiators, yet using crisp packets for this purpose is both ineffective and potentially unsafe.'"

Homeowners are advised to place rinsed empty crisp packets taped to the wall directly behind radiators to reflect heat back into rooms. Proponents claim the metallised plastic film of crisp packets reflects heat toward room centres, reduces heat loss through walls, and offers a simple, cost-effective way to save on heating bills. A Cambridge sustainable environments researcher described the idea as creative but warned that reflective materials can be misinterpreted, that using crisp packets is ineffective and potentially unsafe. Crisp packets are made from polypropylene and aluminium layers that cannot be separated for household recycling and can take more than 100 years to degrade.

Read at www.dailymail.co.uk