Hydronic baseboard and furniture

exheatingguy

Hello all, Google searched, searched on this site and can’t find an answer. Maybe I’m not wording it correctly. Getting new furniture and would like to know how close can furniture, etc. be to hydronic baseboard. Do not want to disrupt airflow.

Jamie Hall

Depends. Is the furniture skirted? That's a problem. Does the furniture have a back which rests against the wall even if the legs are kept away by the baseboard? That's a problem. But if you have a few inches below the furniture for incoming air to flow freely, and a couple of inches between the furniture and the opening at the upper side of the baseboard, you should be fine.

EdTheHeaterMan

Think about air flow. There is a damper on baseboard that will block off the 1" or so airway built into baseboard that will virtually stop all convection air currents. I remember being told as a young burner service technician that 15% of the heat given off by a Baseboard Radiator is Radiant Heat. The rest of the heat from that type radiator (85%) is from convection air currents. Now I'm sure that this was a generalization and that each different brand and/or model of baseboard radiator has different characteristics, so don't take this as an absolute fact. My point being that all it takes is a 1" air space to be blocked to make the darn thing mostly useless. So make sure there is at least 1" of air flow space at the bottom of the furniture and 1" at the wall. But like any other "Choke Point" in an air flow system, making it bigger can only help increase flow

EBEBRATT-Ed

As long as you don't jamb the furniture up against the baseboard your probably fine.

If you have a sofa in front of the baseboard it pull it out 6-8". As long as air can get in and out of the baseboard it will work.

hot_rod

Carpet to close to the bottom and drapes that block the upper opening are buzz kills for convectors.

exheatingguy

ok, thanks guys

fatimahdorsey632

I ran into this same issue when I was setting up my workspace and wondered how close I could put stuff without blocking the heat. From what I’ve picked up, it’s best to keep a few inches of space between the baseboard and bigger furniture like Computer Desks. I’ve got mine set up so there’s a bit of room for air to flow behind it and at the bottom, and it seems to keep things warm without any problems.