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.
Myth # 1: Baseboard heaters have to go under the window.
With advances in window efficiency and improvements in baseboard performance, this is no longer necessary. Dimplex Convector Baseboards can be located anywhere in the room including behind furniture, with as little as three inches of clearance.
This is because cold air can leak through and create unpleasant drafts. The heat from a baseboard heater under a window will rise and help to offset that cool air, the more cold air that comes in, the harder a heater has to work.
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.
If you want to make sure your room is heated properly, you can place your baseboard heater right under the window. This will help you warm up your room a lot quicker and more efficiently. This happens because the cold air coming in from the crevices of the window sets down.
Around the element are fins that spread the heat throughout the room. Some units include a thermostat directly on the baseboard, while others are controlled by a wall-mounted thermostat. Baseboard heaters are almost always located on perimeter walls under windows which helps counteract the cold air entering the home.
Baseboard heating cost
You can expect to spend about anywhere from $500-1,500 more per year to heat a home with baseboards than a more efficient system like a ductless mini-split heat pump. The placement of baseboard heaters — near windows and exterior walls — also makes them inefficient.
Baseboard Heater Cons
Expensive to operate: Expect higher utility bills than with forced air through an HVAC system. Safety hazard: Electric baseboard heaters can get extremely hot. Without proper maintenance and care, they can become a fire hazard. To prevent fire, keep furniture and curtains at least six inches away.
To ensure your baseboard heaters are as efficient as possible, turn down your thermostat whenever you can. Baseboard heaters are known for being zone heaters, meaning each heater warms the room it is in rather than the entire house. Practice zone heating by lowering the temperatures of heaters in unused rooms.
We get a lot of questions from people who want to know if they can put furniture in front of their heaters. Simple answer, you should not place anything in front of your heater as it is not safe; this includes any kind of furniture, drapes, paper, bedding, and people.
So let's dive a little deeper into the pros and cons of baseboard heating, specifically the cons. The biggest con of this form of heating is the lack of efficiency and relatively high cost to run these systems.
Can you really hang curtains over baseboard heaters? The answer to that question is YES as long as they are above the heaters. These are the new curtains I just purchased and I made sure that the length of the panel hovered above the heaters. They hover above the baseboard heater a couple of inches.
Ductless and ducted heat pumps are one of the top alternatives to baseboard heaters if you're looking for the benefits of electric heat, such as energy efficiency and reduced carbon footprint, but want to avoid the drawbacks listed above.
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.
If your baseboard uses hot water to heat tin fins which in turn heat the air, then the answer to your question is a firm no. The temperature of the water coursing through the pipes leaves the boiler at about 165 degrees F. Much too cool to ignite even a piece of toilet paper.
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.
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.
Baseboard heaters require little space, are energy efficient, and are not noisy like a space heater because there is no fan. Many homeowners like the way that baseboard heat comes out silently and evenly, instead of hearing the fan turning on and off periodically.
Both types of baseboard heaters can heat up quickly, but it takes a long time for the space itself to warm up since this is radiant, not fan-driven, heat. Heat time varies, but usually, you can expect to wait 30 minutes or even up to an hour for the room to feel comfortable.
The life expectancy of hot water baseboard heaters is about 20 years, however, with care they can last much longer. That's why you see them in older homes so often. But age doesn't mean they are defunct. The technology hasn't changed that much and there's a reason for that: it works.
Choose an energy-efficient setting: 68 degrees when you're home and 60 degrees when sleeping or away. (Exception: For ceiling cable heat, change only 2 to 3 degrees at a time for the most efficiency.) Each degree you lower the temperature throughout your home saves an estimated 2 percent on your heating costs.
The warm air circulates along the floor around the entire space. Thick rugs can have an impact on how well the room is being heated. Your electric baseboard heater should be installed 3/4 inches above the floor to avoid this issue.
Natural gas is likely to prove the cheapest way to heat a home if you have this heating option available to you where you live. Although prices have risen, natural gas is the least costly form of space heating. This is followed by electricity, propane, and heating oil, from the next cheapest to the most expensive.
Electric Baseboard Heating
You can put these in every room of the house if you want, but it's far more customary for an electric baseboard to provide supplemental heat for individual rooms on an as-needed basis.
You may think it's impossible to add central air to your baseboard-heated house but think again. Adding central AC is easier to achieve than you think. There are options available for different circumstances, including for homes without existing ductwork.