Radiant Baseboard Heating

[shepav]

My husband and I are moving into a house that's 500 sq. ft. larger than the one we're in. This house has radiant baseboard heat. Does anyone know much about this? Are there any ways to cut the cost of this heat? Can I turn the baseboard heating off in certain rooms (won't need one room for another few months when the baby arrives).

Any help would be appreciated - we're moving to northern Michigan, where it gets cold!!

Thanks!!

[JanH]

I don't know much about the heating, but I wish I had something on the floor. Ours is in the ceiling here cos no basements. And the heat stays on the ceiling. Heat rises. Our parents live in an area that has heating ducts under the house. My parent's ducts are along the wall and they are older. They have levers to shut off the duct if they want. But I wouldn't know about radiant heat. We had heaters (radiant perhaps?) in the wall growing up and you could turn off the ones in each room. But you had to be real careful not to place ANYTHING near the heater. Furniture, drapes, beds, etc.

[poundwise]

Radiant baseboard heating can be very expensive. My wife and I had a tiny house once and the bill in the winter was as high as when we lived in a much larger place with central heat/air until we learned how to best manipulate the settings.

Many of these types of heaters only have settings such as low, medium, and high with scored lines in-between. When you choose a setting, the thermostat of the unit will increase/decrease output from the element accordingly.

As for turning off a room, it is most likely possible, but it is probably not wise to turn off a baseboard heater completely unless the room will be closed off and not used at all. This is because most of the power used with these units is in the initial heating up of the room/house.

I actually like the heat of baseboard heaters and as the heat is radiant heat there is no cost (or sound) of a fan. Just be advised, during the coldest months, when the units are running at higher levels for extended periods, your power bill will likely be quite high.

At least, this has been our experience.

[shepav]

Thanks for the advice. My husband corrected me in saying that we have radiant baseboard STEAM heat. Apparently this makes a difference. I've heard some people like this more than forced air, but I'm mostly concerned about the price difference!

[PRICEPLUS]

Forced air really hurts if you have sinus troubles. The humidifier on the furnace conked out due ot mineral deposits form the water here!

[poundwise]

Originally Posted by shepav

Thanks for the advice. My husband corrected me in saying that we have radiant baseboard STEAM heat. Apparently this makes a difference. I've heard some people like this more than forced air, but I'm mostly concerned about the price difference!

Ah, yes. That is different.