Electric baseboard heaters are well-suited for home additions or spaces that aren't adequately heated by your existing
Here's a quick rundown of the best practices:
Fan heaters work best on an inside wall; baseboards are best under a window. (But you can install fan heaters on outside walls and baseboards on inside walls.) If you're installing a heater by a door, make sure the heater isn't blocked by the door when it is open.
Myth #2: Bigger is Better.
The rule of thumb for sizing a baseboard, or any electric heater, was 10 watts per square foot. So if you have a 10 x 10 room you would need a 1,000 watt heater.
Placing baseboard heaters under windows reduces the condensation and potentially the mold that may occur. They are more susceptible than other parts of the building envelop because they have somewhere around a tenth the R value of most walls or roofs.
Dangerous and uncomfortable
Electric baseboards get hot, which means you have to keep furniture and curtains at least six inches away from them to prevent fire. If you have young children in the house, they can also be a burn risk. The heat generated by baseboard heaters is a very dry heat.
Electric baseboard heaters are generally more energy-efficient for long-term use because they convert nearly all the electricity they use into heat and can be controlled to heat specific areas. Space heaters can consume more electricity, especially when used for prolonged periods.
To avoid wasted heat (and higher electricity costs), only turn on baseboard heaters in rooms that are occupied. Close doors to bedrooms and offices when baseboard heaters are turned on to keep the heat in.
This is because the heat in the room is easily lost through the thin glass which creates a cold area close to the window surface. By placing a radiator directly underneath the window, hot air is produced and released, which then rises to hit the cold air from the window.
Many baseboard heating systems are a form of electric heat that operates without ductwork and can be expensive to run. Baseboard heating is often more efficient than radiators, and they are even more efficient when they are run constantly, instead of being turned on and off.
Today baseboard heaters are much more efficient than their older counterparts, and when used as a secondary heating source, or even as the primary, the results are drastically different from 20 years ago.
In other words, a 1,500-watt heater will be great for a 250-square-foot room with central heat. If that same room had no other source of heat, you'd need a 2,000-watt heater.
In a 2,000 square-foot home, you may need around 250 to 300 linear feet of baseboard. The combined perimeter baseboard length will be about 180 linear feet. Internal walls will increase that figure by another 100 linear feet to a total of 280 linear feet.
Maintain Clearance: Keep furniture at least 6 inches away from baseboard heaters. This prevents the blockage of heat and reduces fire risk.
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.
Baseboard heaters are seldom located in the far interior of a building, but instead along the building's inside perimeter, where the greatest heat loss occurs. NOTE: Baseboard heaters should sit at least 3/4-inch above the floor or carpet.
The traditional place to position your radiator is the coldest part of the room. Whether that's beneath your window or against the wall. This is due to conduction, with incoming cold air causing more effective heat conduction and pushing the hot air from your radiator into the middle of the room.
Efficiency and Air Flow
Placing the heat vents beneath the windows is actually best for efficiency and proper airflow.
Most of the heat lost is due to radiation through the glazing, with air leakage coming in a close second, especially from windows with poor insulation. The remaining heat loss tends to be caused by heat convection through cavities and poor heat conduction through the frame of the window.
Whenever possible, baseboard heaters are installed along exterior walls in the home and below windows to provide optimal heat distribution.
Because baseboard heaters are outdated systems, you may need to hire heating repair services more often just to ensure they are in good working order. In contrast, more modern HVAC systems won't require as much maintenance, and they can efficiently heat your entire house through ducts and vents.
Electric baseboard heaters are typically installed at the base of the walls in a room, often under windows.
The gist is that cold air from the window mixes with warm air rising out of the baseboard, that warm air moves around the room, cools and sinks back to the floor, where it is eventually re-heated by the baseboards. That's why traditionally it's recommended to install a baseboard under a window.
Electric baseboard heaters have an on-and-off switch, but you can leave them running at a regular temperature setting.