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Is baseboard heating expensive? In general, electric baseboard heaters use more electricity than an electric heat pump. This means higher electric bills, especially in the coldest winter months when they’re working overtime to keep your home warm.While space heaters are fairly cheaper than baseboard heaters, the latter is safer to use and heats up an entire room as opposed to a small area in intervals.That all depends on how often —and at what temperature—you run your baseboard heaters. Running a single baseboard heater for 24 hours a day would use 333.49 kWh of electricity, according to BCHydro.
- Reduce window drafts. …
- Adjust the thermostat to your day. …
- Practice the virtue of patience. …
- Get air flowing. …
- Keep them clean. …
- Consider programmable thermostats. …
- Heat by zone.
Contents
Does baseboard heat use a lot of electricity?
Is baseboard heating expensive? In general, electric baseboard heaters use more electricity than an electric heat pump. This means higher electric bills, especially in the coldest winter months when they’re working overtime to keep your home warm.
Is it cheaper to run baseboard heat or space heater?
While space heaters are fairly cheaper than baseboard heaters, the latter is safer to use and heats up an entire room as opposed to a small area in intervals.
How much electricity does a baseboard heater use in a day?
That all depends on how often —and at what temperature—you run your baseboard heaters. Running a single baseboard heater for 24 hours a day would use 333.49 kWh of electricity, according to BCHydro.
Can I leave my baseboard heater on?
Yes, while baseboard heaters are considered very safe, and the risk of fire is pretty low if misused, there is a risk of fire. Here are some safety and maintenance tips for preventing fire and to maximize the heating capabilities in a room. Don’t Block the Airflow.
How much does it cost to run baseboard heat?
…
Running Costs.
| Number of Heaters | Monthly Usage Cost Range |
|---|---|
| One unit | $50 – $60 |
| Two units | $100 – $120 |
| Three units | $150 – $180 |
| Four units | $200 – $240 |
What is wrong with baseboard heating?
Tripped breakers are a common problem with baseboard heaters. Inspect the valves inside the heater. Valves may corrode and stick together without proper lubrication, preventing heat from getting into the room.
What is the most efficient way to use baseboard heaters?
- Reduce window drafts. …
- Adjust the thermostat to your day. …
- Practice the virtue of patience. …
- Get air flowing. …
- Keep them clean. …
- Consider programmable thermostats. …
- Heat by zone.
What is better than baseboard heaters?
Ductless heat pumps/mini split systems are one of the top alternatives to baseboard heaters if you’re looking for the energy efficiency of electric heat but want to avoid the drawbacks listed above. A ductless mini split provides all the benefits of zoned climate control, and doesn’t require ductwork.
How much does it cost to run a 1500 watt heater for 24 hours?
Example (you can use an electric heater running cost calculator below for different wattages/kWh prices): If we assume the price of electricity is $0.1319 per kWh, a 1,500-watt electric space heater will cost; $0.20 to run per hour. $4.80 to run per 24 hours (day).
Can you adjust baseboard heating?
If you have a baseboard heater with knob, adjusting it just requires rotating the knob to the lower setting (counterclockwise) to decrease the temperature, and rotating it to the higher setting (clockwise) to increase the temperature.
Is hot water baseboard heating expensive?
The cost of installing a hydronic or hot water baseboard heating system can be approximately $6,000 to $8,000. The exact cost of the installation depends on the type of heater it is, labor cost, and whether you’re replacing an existing baseboard heater or installing a new one.
How much do electric heaters cost to run per hour?
| Power Rating | Per Hour | Per Day* |
|---|---|---|
| 1200W (1.2kW) | 33.60p 1200W | £2.02 7.2kWh |
| 1500W (1.5kW) | 42.00p 1500W | £2.52 9kWh |
| 2000W (2kW) | 56.00p 2000W | £3.36 12kWh |
| 2500W (2.5kW) | 70.00p 2500W | £4.20 15kWh |
How do you keep electric heating prices down?
- Layer clothing when inside and have a hot drink: …
- Stop draughts: …
- Upgrade your thermostat: …
- Turn down your thermostat: …
- Time your heating: …
- Insulate your hot water cylinder: …
- Choose which rooms to heat: …
- Unplug energy vampires:
What temperature should baseboard heat be set at?
It is best to set the baseboard heater thermostat between 60 to 80°F. If that doesn’t help reduce the cold, you can adjust the settings 2 to 3 degrees at a time. Setting a higher temperature does not make the room warmer immediately. Some temperatures can be as high as 120 to 195°F.
Can I put a couch in front of a baseboard heater?
Space in Front of Baseboard Heaters
You can place a couch or chair in front of a heater, but it must be at least a foot away. Placing furniture closer than that creates a potential fire hazard, and it can greatly diminish the heater’s performance by restricting airflow to and from the heater.
Is baseboard heat more efficient than forced air?
Baseboard heating is great for delivering consistent heat in a room, while forced air works best when heating the entire home. However, forced air heating will warm up a room faster. Installation costs favor baseboard heating, but forced air heating is more cost-efficient for large spaces.
Are new baseboard heaters more energy efficient?
Q: Are new baseboard heaters more efficient? Since all-electric baseboard heaters convert 100 percent of the electricity they use into heat, purchasing a newer baseboard heater won’t make it more efficient than an older one.
Should I remove baseboard heaters?
When Should You Remove Baseboard Heating and Replace it With a New One? To state it very simply, you need to have your baseboard heating system replaced when you detect that it has started to consume too much energy/ electricity and that it takes more time than usual to heat the room than it used to do earlier.
How much does it cost to run a 1000 watt heater for 24 hours?
| Electric Heater Wattage: | Running Cost (Per Hour) | Running Cost (For 24 Hours) |
|---|---|---|
| 750 Watts | $0.10 | $2.40 |
| 1,000 Watts | $0.13 | $3.12 |
| 1,250 Watts | $0.17 | $4.08 |
| 1,500 Watts | $0.20 | $4.80 |
7 baseboard heating efficiency tips / BC Hydro Power Smart
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- Table of Contents:
1 Reduce window drafts
2 Adjust the thermostat to your day
Recommended temperatures
3 Practice the virtue of patience
4 Get air flowing
5 Keep them clean
6 Consider programmable thermostats
7 Heat by zone
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Pros and Cons of Electric Baseboard Heat | Home Climates
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Pros of Baseboard Heat
Cons of Baseboard Heat
Baseboard Heat Compared to Forced Air Systems
Baseboard Heat vs Ductless HVAC Units
Baseboard Heater vs. Space Heater Efficiency | Budgeting Money – The Nest
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- Most searched keywords: Whether you are looking for Baseboard Heater vs. Space Heater Efficiency | Budgeting Money – The Nest Updating Baseboard heaters or space heaters can be used to supplement heat in houses that have chilly spaces. Baseboard heaters are more expensive to buy and are safer to use. Space heaters are cheaper to buy, but they are less efficient and they carry safety concerns that baseboard heaters do not.
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Electric baseboard heaters – tips, risks, and how to save | Ratehub.ca
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Need home insurance
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What is the disadvantage of baseboard electric heat
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How can I lower my electric bill with baseboard heat
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What is wrong with baseboard heating
How safe is baseboard heat
Can you leave baseboard heaters on when not home
Why are baseboard heaters placed under Windows
Why is electric heat so inefficient
Is electric heat the most expensive
Do baseboard heaters have built in thermostats
How hot should electric baseboard heaters get
Do you bleed baseboard heat
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7 baseboard heating efficiency tips
Programmable thermostats are more precise than the manual ones located on your heater. Most heaters are controlled by a wall-mounted dial thermostat or a dial on the side of the baseboard itself. But they’re less precise and harder to control than a programmable or digital model. Thermostats mounted directly on the heaters can be slower to respond to changes in room temperature, so for rooms where you’re spending a lot of time (such as your living room), you should consider replacing that thermostat with a wall-mounted model. For accurate readings, never install a thermostat directly above a baseboard heater, near a refrigerator or other large appliance or where it will be in direct sunlight.
If you really want to save, your best option is to keep the thermostat down and bundle up. Break out the sweaters, slippers, and blankets to save on your bills.
Pros and Cons of Electric Baseboard Heat
Table of Contents
How Do Baseboard Heating Systems Work? | The Different Types of Baseboard Heat | Is Baseboard Heat Efficient | Pros of Baseboard Heat | Cons of Baseboard Heat | Baseboard Heat VS Other HVAC Systems
Electric Baseboard Heat
If you have baseboard heaters, then you know firsthand the joys and struggles that come with operating them in the winter. On the one hand, electric baseboard heaters afford you the ability to control the temperature in each room individually — it’s zone heating without the technology! On the other hand, electric baseboard heaters are unsightly, less than efficient than modern electric heat pumps, and can be hazardous if you have young children.
Maybe you’ve considered replacing your current system with a more efficient option. Or maybe you’re facing a lot of repairs that leave you wondering if it’s worth it.
To understand your system — and how to best heat your home — it’s important to understand how electric baseboard heaters work and how they compare with other systems on the market today. Learn more about the best home heating solutions in Pennsylvania.
How Do Baseboard Heating Systems Work?
Even homeowners who’ve had electric baseboard heating for years often don’t understand how their home’s heating system works. So before you can understand the pros and cons of baseboard heating, take a few minutes to ask: what is baseboard heating and how does it work?
Electric baseboard heating systems — also known as electric resistance heating — is a form of zone heating that individually creates and controls the temperature in each room of your home. There are no furnaces, boilers, heating ducts, vents or blowers involved in distributing the heat. Each baseboard unit houses a heating element that generates heat and then slowly releases it into the room where it’s located.
The term “baseboard heat” refers to the heater’s location along the bottom of the wall. The idea behind this location is that heat naturally rises so, by starting out along the floor, the heat slowly rises into the area between the floor and ceiling where you spend most of your time.
The Different Types of Baseboard Heat
There are different types of baseboard heat out there, such as gas baseboard heat and hydronic baseboard heat. You might have heard this referred to as hot water baseboard heat. These heaters send hot water through a series of copper coils located in baseboard units around the home. The water can be heated through your home’s boiler system. However, in this post, we’re addressing traditional electric baseboard heat.
Typically baseboard heaters are installed under windows and on perimeter walls of the home. This allows them to counteract the cold air radiating off the window glass, as well as the areas where the home’s greatest heat loss tends to happen. Electric baseboards are individually controlled, meaning each unit — and therefore each room — has its own thermostat. This can be beneficial if your family has disagreements about how warm — or cold — to keep the house in the winter. It’s also helpful because you can turn the heat down in rooms you don’t use often or up in rooms that tend to get drafty.
But Is Baseboard Heat Efficient?
There isn’t an easy answer to this question because it depends on a variety of factors. The overall efficiency of a baseboard heating system depends on its age, its condition and where you live. In most climates, an electric heat pump will operate with more overall efficiency than electric baseboard heaters. In fact, homeowners should see an approximately 50% decrease in electricity use once electric baseboard heaters aren’t being used anymore. This means monthly savings on their energy bill.
Everyone wants a more efficient — and less expensive — way to heat their home. If you don’t want to convert your home to central heating and cooling, the ductless HVAC system — also called a mini-split system — is a great way to get a more efficient system at a more economical price.
Learn more about Mini Splits
We’ll get into the details of the ductless system later in this article. But to understand its benefits, you should first understand the pros and cons of baseboard heat.
Pros of Baseboard Heat
Although not as common as other home heating options, baseboard heaters are still easy to find, especially in older homes. What are the electric baseboard heating pros?
1. It’s Quiet
We’ve all heard it — you’re visiting a friend with an electric heat pump and “woosh!” The heater turns on and starts to blast the house’s occupants with warm air. If you’re near the furnace when this happens or the blower isn’t in great shape, it can be loud enough to disrupt a conversation or make sleep more difficult. Baseboard heat isn’t like this. You’d be hard-pressed to notice when baseboard heaters turn on and off. Other than a few pops and clicks as the heating element begins to warm up, there’s no noise coming from baseboard heaters.
2. Zone Heating
Zone heating allows families to set different temperatures in different areas of the home. Today it’s often presented as a digital feature allowing you to designate different parts of your home to be heated and cooled at certain preset temperatures without being influenced by temperatures in other areas of the house. Electric baseboard heaters have offered this option for years because each baseboard unit has its own thermostat.
If you want your bedroom to stay a cool 67 degrees, but you don’t want to freeze while you’re watching television, then you can set it to 70 in your living space. Or, if your child is away at college most of the winter, you can turn off the unit in their room and then flip it back on when they come home for the weekend.
3. Simple Installation
In homes where it might be difficult to install new ductwork or the cost is too high, baseboard heat can be a more economical alternative. Because there is no ductwork involved in electric baseboard heating, it’s easier — and cheaper — to install than other types of heating.
4. Secondary Source of Heat
When winter temperatures take a dive, electric heat pumps often can’t keep up. In areas prone to extreme winter temperatures, baseboard heaters make a great secondary — or backup — source of heat. Why? Heat pumps weren’t designed to handle the bitter cold of winter. When it’s too cold for a heat pump to operate as it should, flip on the baseboard heaters in rooms where a little extra heat is needed. Besides keeping the house warmer, this keeps the heat pump from running constantly, trying — and failing — to keep up.
Cons of Baseboard Heat
Although there are some notable benefits to electric baseboard heaters, they aren’t considered the most efficient or practical heat source on the market today. Why is that?
1. Cost
Is baseboard heating expensive? In general, electric baseboard heaters use more electricity than an electric heat pump. This means higher electric bills, especially in the coldest winter months when they’re working overtime to keep your home warm. The placement of baseboard heaters — near windows and exterior walls — can also work against you. If the thermostat on the unit senses cold nearby, such as drafts from old windows, it’s going to work even harder trying to keep the room warm. Why? It responds to the temperature nearest the thermostat. This can increase your energy expenses even more.
Some homeowners can save some money by keeping the heaters off in rooms where they don’t spend much time, but depending on the size of your home and how many people live there, this may not be an option.
2. Interior Design
By design, baseboard heaters take up valuable wall space in every room. They’re under windows and along exterior walls to mitigate the cold that passes through these parts of the home. Inevitably, this means you’ll find a long baseboard heater right where you’d like to put the couch or bed or dresser. Because electric baseboard heaters get hot, you should keep furniture and curtains at least 6 inches away from them to prevent a fire. The placement of the units and the need to keep them unobstructed can severely limit where you can place furniture and what kind of curtains you can safely hang. Long drapes are a big “no” on windows above a baseboard heater!
3. Safety Hazard
Electric baseboard heaters can get really hot when they’re on. The heating element itself gets hot, but the heater covers also get incredibly hot as well. If you have young children who are prone to sticking their fingers where they don’t belong, this can be dangerous. Parents naturally look for ways to hide or block safety hazards in their homes, but unfortunately, because you can’t put items over or in front of the heaters, there’s really no way to block them from a curious child. Because of this, young children in homes with electric baseboard heaters require constant monitoring to ensure that they’re safe at all times.
4. Dry Heat
We’re often asked: is baseboard heat dry? Electric baseboard heaters are notorious for producing an incredibly dry heat. Residents of homes with baseboard heaters may experience dry skin, dry throats, bloody noses and dry eyes, especially if they’re prone to these problems to begin with. Sometimes homeowners use a humidifier to compensate for the dry air in their home, but that requires more electricity, and it can be a pain to keep them clean and filled with fresh water.
5. Require Regular Cleaning
Anytime the system is forced to work harder or longer means an increase in energy costs. To keep baseboard heaters operating at their maximum efficiency, you must clean them regularly. The good news is they aren’t difficult to clean — all you need is a vacuum — but if dust begins to collect on the system, it will have to work harder to produce enough heat.
Baseboard Heat Compared to Forced Air Systems
To understand electric baseboard heat pros and cons better, you have to compare it with other systems. You’ll often see electric baseboard heat compared with a forced-air system, one of the most common heating systems found in homes today. When you’re comparing baseboard heat vs. forced air, baseboard heat benefits include:
Easily customizable temperatures in each room
Better heat when temps are below freezing
Quiet delivery
Ductless On the other hand, when compared to forced-air systems, baseboard heat often falls short because it’s: More expensive
More restrictive
Requires more cleaning If your home doesn’t already have a forced-air system, this is frustrating. Installing ductwork and machinery for forced air systems is an investment that isn’t always possible. So how can you upgrade your home’s heating system without breaking the bank?
Baseboard Heat vs. Ductless HVAC Units
There is an alternative to baseboard heaters and forced air units: ductless HVAC.
Also called a mini-split system, a ductless HVAC unit combines the best of both types of heating and cooling systems. The ductless system is comprised of a compressor installed outside of the home that is connected to indoor air handlers throughout the house. Rather than connecting the air handlers via ductwork — which can be costly and difficult to install — the air handlers are connected with a copper conduit that runs through the wall to the compressor outside.
What are the benefits of ductless HVAC units?
1. Reduction of Energy Loss
When you install a ductless HVAC unit in your home, you can expect to reduce the amount of energy loss via your home’s system by 30% annually. A reduction in energy loss means monthly energy savings!
2. Simple Installation
Because this system doesn’t rely on ducts to carry forced air from room-to-room, installation is easier and less intrusive. The compressor is installed outside and then connected to rooms in your home via copper wires. Depending on your needs, you can opt to have one indoor unit or, if you want to be able to heat and condition multiple rooms individually, you can install several indoor air handlers in different rooms of your home. Regardless of how many air handlers you opt to have installed, the disruption to your home is minimal and these systems are easily installed in a day or two.
3. Maintain Control of Your Home’s Temperature
Ductless HVAC systems provide the energy efficiency of a modern HVAC system but they still allow you to control temperature individually in each room of your home. You can reduce the temperature in rooms where you don’t spend a lot of time and increase it in areas of your home that tend to get colder.
4. Low Maintenance
Ductless systems don’t require the maintenance that comes with keeping baseboard heaters operating efficiently. Ductless systems do have a filter that collects dust, but these filters are easy-to-remove and washable, making periodic cleaning quick and easy. When you convert to ductless, you won’t spend your winter vacuuming heaters or chasing dust. You also won’t have to worry about small items being dropped — or placed — inside the unit by a mischevious child.
5. Can Be Blended With Your Room’s Appearance
Ductless systems can be installed up high near the ceiling or low to the floor — in various locations around each room. This means you can install them where it’s convenient and even choose a lighter or darker colored unit to blend in better with your existing decor.
HVAC Professionals in Harrisburg and Hershey
Whether you’re looking for a company to repair existing baseboard heating systems or install a new ductless HVAC system, look no further than Home Climates.
Our expertise in geothermal and high-efficiency systems means that we’re committed to saving you money and making our planet a better place — and we don’t have to compromise one to achieve the other! Our Elizabethtown location makes it convenient to offer service throughout Central Pennsylvania, including Dauphin, Lancaster, Cumberland and York Counties.
We’re proud to offer a five-year labor guarantee because we stand behind our background checked, highly-trained and experienced technicians. We also offer convenient scheduling — no more waiting around the house all day wondering when your technician will show up!
Have an HVAC system that needs to be repaired or replaced? Don’t wait. Schedule a repair or in-home estimate now.
Baseboard Heater vs. Space Heater Efficiency
The house is cold, but you’re the only one home and you’re working in one room. Should you plug in a small space heater or use an electric baseboard heater? It depends on the type of heating you already have and the amount of heat you want. If you want to heat the whole room, you might want a baseboard heater. If you want to heat a small area on a sporadic basis, it can be more efficient to use a space heater.
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) While space heaters are fairly cheaper than baseboard heaters, the latter is safer to use and heats up an entire room as opposed to a small area in intervals.
Baseboard Heaters
Baseboard heaters cost about $60 to $300. They are more expensive than space heaters, but they are safer to use because there is less potential of fire. Space heaters are more likely to cause a fire, so they must be used with caution. Baseboard heaters have protective covers that prevent potential burns. They also do not use the noisy fans that space heaters use. Baseboard heaters use 500 to 2,000 watts of electricity and require 120 or 240 volt circuits. They do not have a flame, and they do not generate carbon monoxide. They also can’t tip over.
Baseboard heaters can be a cheap, relatively safe way to heat an unheated room without the need to add ducts. Over the long term, they’re considerably more efficient than space heaters. However, if you’re using it as a primary source of heat, be aware that the U.S. Department of Energy says baseboard heat is one of the most expensive ways to heat your home. Baseboard heat can, however, be a cheap way of supplementing your heat.
How Baseboard Heaters Work
Baseboard heaters allow warm air to rise up through the cold, so they are a good choice for areas that have cold drafts from windows. Choose the size you need based on the amount of space you want to heat.
Some baseboard heaters use electric coils to warm the surrounding air. These are called convection units. Other heaters are hydronic or oil-filled versions. These use an element that heats the water or oil, which then heats the air. These units are more efficient than convection units.
When plugging in or installing a baseboard unit, make sure you have ¾ inch of clearance between the baseboard unit and the carpet or floor to allow for proper air circulation. Also, make sure any curtains above the unit are no closer than four to eight inches.
Baseboard Heater Efficiency
Watch to see how much your electricity bill rises the first month you use it. If your electricity usage increases considerably, you might consider finding a more efficient way to heat the room. A 1,200 square-foot, well-insulated house in most climates heated by baseboard heat averages 12,000 watts of power, or about $400 per month. This could go up if your home is poorly insulated or temperatures are extremely cold.
If you’re using a baseboard heater on a daily basis in the cold months, it should be cleaned regularly to remove the cobwebs and dust from inside the unit. That will make it work more efficiently. You’ll need to remove the front of the unit and thoroughly vacuum the unit. It’s best to clean them two or three times a year, especially if you have pets.
Space Heaters
Space heaters are cheaper to buy, usually costing from $25 to $100. They’re only cheaper to use, however, if you’re using them to heat a small area or to supplement heat in one room. Space heaters are not as efficient as baseboard heaters and should never be used as a main heat source. Make sure you buy one that is energy efficient. Do some research to learn which models are the most energy efficient.
How Space Heaters Work
A space heater contains a convection system with a heat exchanger that converts cold air to warm air. A fan distributes the warm air into the room. These can be noisy. Regular usage can increase your monthly utility bills. The average cost to run one per day is $2.80. Space heaters work well when used for short periods of time. Space heaters work by heating the people and objects in the room rather than the air in the room.
Caution on Space Heaters
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