Water Heater & Baseboard Heat

bill_53

Can a gas fired water heater be used for baseboard heating also?

DaveGateway

You shouldn't

A water heater is not a heating rated appliance. A water heater cannot put out 180° temps.

Ken_8

Many have tried,

but few have succeeded. Most states don't allow it and since most water heaters only have 3/4" inlet and outlet ports, make even a small home difficult to heat. Then too, water heaters are typically only capable of ~60% AFUE numbers while even the worst boiler gets ~82% AFUE.

Bottom line: Water heaters are meant and designed to heat water for wahing and bathing; boilers are made to heat homes and indirect water heaters.

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jeff_51

you guys need to look at the rating plates on those water heater

you might be surprised at how many are rated for domestic heating. Yes it most certainly can be done, but of course the problem is the water temp. They work really well in small radiant applications. Since we have mostly forced air out here, when heating a basement slab, it is only for comfort, not heat and they work real well in that application. By the way, the avg afue on water heaters is 72-75%. Not great but certainly as good as the low end stuff out there.

Larry Weingarten

Jeff...

...I agree water heaters can work for space heating in the right situation, but that 72-75 is probably combustion efficiency, not AFUE. AFUE is usually up to 62(%) for a good, small, conventional gas heater. When comparing alternatives, looking at the life cycle cost of an installation is the best way I know to figure out what really is or isn't a good deal.

Yours, Larry