FA vs. Baseboard

Nick Dearing

I know that radiant heat is the ultimate in comfort but I have more than half the stuff to do electric baseboard. I was only wondering about the comfort difference between electric baseboard and forced air. You should gain some comfort because you are not blowing air all around, just natural convection. I live in North East Ohio. Design temp day is -1 F. I am also pretty well insulated: R-45 in ceiling, R-4 in walls, double pane windows, ect.

Nick_16

FA vs. Baseboard

I have an older forced air system (Carrier 80%) gas. I am changing to all electric home. I already have electric hot water, stove, dryer, 200 amp service, etc. Aside from price, because in my area electric is cheaper than gas, is there a comfort difference between forced air and electric baseboard or hot water baseboard? Thanks :-)

don_104

I'm going to

comments the only way I know how to this question...

It depends.

ok there nothing more comfortable then hotwater heat,but with that said it to has it limits,depending on how well your envelope is design.

Whew! Could I barrow a paper towel please?

Boiler Guy

Experience has shown me

Forced air is usually faster to make changes in comfort level and you have the options oF AC and continuous circulation if desired. If you already have a duct system, why not install an electric furnace. With some good controls you can make the sytem suit your individual needs.
If your home was never designed for Electric baseboard, you will most likely never achieve a real good comfort level and it will cost more to operate in the long run.
Hot water will enable you to achieve very good comfort if designed and installed well. However it is more costly to install initially and if AC is desired you need a second system for air distribution or window/wall units. JMHO

Joe Brix

enough amps?

If your house is big, will you have enough amps to run everything? I can see going heat pump since it will use around 30 AMPS @ 208V. But a bunch of electric baseboard can use up 100AMPS easily. You may want to go gas HW heater, stove and dryer just to get some of the power back for heating!

Nick_16

Plenty of Amps

Many all electric home around here only have 100 amp service and watch what they do all at one time. 200 amps is plenty of service for all electric homes. One would almost never have all the heat, dryer, stove, water heater, etc. Going at once. I did a heat loss calc and I only require about 65,000 BTU/hr anyway which is only 80 amps.

Nick_16

Comfort

I can have continuous circulation because I already have the forced air system. I am not removing the furnace because I will still use it for air cond. in the summer. I don't want to install an electric furnace because from everything I have read and heard, forced air is almost the least comfortabel heat there is. As far as I know, the only difference between hot water baseboard and electric baseboad is with hydronics, it is easy to change the fuel source and it doesn't dry out the air. Also, I know electric baseboard runs hotter and hydronic you can use low temps. for non-design days and let the system run longer for more comfort.

Weezbo

Look at the wall check electric our way....

it is some inner statement that speaks volumes...

Joe Brix

What part of the country are you in?

Heatpumps are known for putting out only a warm air flow, you'll wind up running longer cycles @ less power consumption. You'll still need electric strip backup when the temps drop below freezing.

Nick Dearing

Sorry

I am using Nick's e-mail address. He is a friend of mine.

[Deleted User]

FA vs. Baseboard

There's a couple other options possible to go with. Install a condensing boiler like the Weil-Mclain Ultra, Buderus GB142 or a Munchkin. They are around 92% to 98% afue, depending on low or high heat mass. For the forced hot air, install a Hydro-air handler. It's a coil that uses the heat from the boiler with air blown thru it for heat, just like the evaporator does for cooling. Or go with hot water baseboard or radiant floor heat and enjoy the comfort while taking advantage of the effeciency of a condensing boiler. Also replace the water heater with an indirect heater. It uses the boiler to heat your domestic hot water. Check out this site below. It explains more about the Hydro-air. http://www.warmair.com/html/hydro-air.htm

Nick Dearing

But...

That is all fine and dandy but...I am talking about electric baseboard. I want to use electric because I already pay 150% more for gas! If I wanted to go the hot water route, I would install an electric boiler. However, I was trying to compare forced air comfort to electric baseboard.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Not all electric baseboard is created equal--even if all are equally efficient in the utilization of energy.

The "standard" stuff is noisy--a constant and quite loud ticking sound as it heats that only diminishes the longer it runs.

The type that has the heating element surrounded by some sort of liquid medium is MUCH quieter, but more expensive.

Electric baseboard with reasonably proportional operation is also available. (It's not just "on" or "off" but tries to vary itself depending on the load.) Sorry--can't remember the manufacturer. Their extraordinary claims of reduced electricity are likely EXTREMELY overstated, but such would be my personal choice.

Will look for the manufacturer and post later.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Here's the Link

Hydrosil Electric Baseboard

Haven't used and again, I'd take the claimed energy savings with a barrel of salt...

bill_51

pull out the wallet and dig up your backyard for a geothermal ground loop....or if you already have a well then you are all set...you already have the ductwork...electric anything means dry and an aprilaire humidifier stuck right in your ductwork can remedy that situation easily and with very little maintenance...not to mention cleaner air with a decent filtration system