Baseboard Radiant Heating: Why You Will Be Happier With an HVAC System

Decorating On a Baseboard Radiant Heating System Schedule

Radiant heating systems are devices installed along the base of walls in a home. They are typically constructed of metal with the heating element on the inside and use either gas or hot water to produce heat. A hallmark of this system is that devices along baseboards must be unobstructed or damage to furniture or drapery and potentially fire can result. Baseboard radiant heating systems simply are not practical for today's homes. This is especially true with the high efficiency of HVAC systems. Virtually every task from decorating, to arrangement of furniture, to home improvement tasks become a challenge with a radiant system. Another aspect of this is that heating elements are exposed creating a danger for small children or animals who touch or even venture too close to the radiant heater.

Slow to Heat

Another drawback of baseboard radiant heating systems is that they are slow to change the temperature of a home. In a forced air system, hot or cool air is blown into the home using a fan. In a radiant system, thermal energy is used to distribute heat making it incredibly inefficient at heating larger rooms. This means a radiant system is using more energy to heat the same amount of space than a forced air system.

Extra Work for Little Incentive

Baseboard radiant heating systems do not require duct work throughout a home. They also are not set up to cool a home. Extra duct work is required for any kind of central air conditioning system to run. This means you will have all the hardware of an HVAC system in addition to the hardware of a radiant heating system installed in your home. If you never plan to have a central air system and you already have radiant heating, perhaps this setup will work for you. If you are planning on a switch, it may not make much sense to all the additional work done when you will need duct work anyway.

Increased Cost of Electric Radiant Baseboard Heating

Electric baseboard heating systems can be incredibly expensive to run. A home can take longer to heat with this type of system which means it needs to stay running for longer in order to be effective. Depending on the square footage of your home, your energy costs could sky rocket as a result of using an electric radiant system. Forced air systems heat homes much more quickly and are more economical to run.

Variable Quality

The U.S. Department of Energy claims that the quality of radiant baseboard heating varies greatly. Baseboard units that are poorly constructed may have highly inaccurate temperature control making it difficult to heat your home. Inferior units can also produce annoying noise such as banging or rattling.