Forced Air or Baseboard Heating
Looking for opinions and comparisons between forced air and baseboard heating systems. Which is more efficient? Advantages and disadvantages of both? Our dilemma, the house has a duck system from a past forced air system. The house also has a great deal of original detail and we are not sure how aesthetically pleasing baseboard heating…
Looking for opinions and comparisons between forced air and baseboard heating systems. Which is more efficient? Advantages and disadvantages of both? Our dilemma, the house has a duck system from a past forced air system. The house also has a great deal of original detail and we are not sure how aesthetically pleasing baseboard heating systems are. Thanks!
I second the radiator option, but if you must go baseboard, forget the cheap crap from slant fin and put in, at least, runtal..http://www.runtalnorthamerica.com/residential_radiators/baseboard_uf.html
I don’t like the dryness of forced air. Baseboards are ugly. Is it impossible to install radiators instead? Radiators are my favorite form of heat.
Restored (sand-blasting the paint off) old radiators are often beautiful, as are many of the new, modern radiators – which have the advantage of being skinnier and taking up much less room.
But if you can use your existing ducts, only you can decide whether any price savings is of greater benefit to you over getting a form of heat that you want.
I should have mentioned that the previous owners did modify the duct system somewhat when the forced air furnace was installed.They added return ducts on the ground floor and one new hot air register, in the kitchen, which originally lacked one because (I presume) it had been heated by a coal stove, with a connected hot water heater. We also added one register (with duct work) going to our laundry room (the original maid’s room). However, the rest of the house is heated by the 1899 hot air registers, connected to the 1899 ducts. The only problems we’ve had with the heating system, over a 36 year period, were when the chimney needed relining (causing the spill switch we had installed to shut the system down) and when the furnace damper we had installed stuck in the closed position, which (fortunately) shut the system down due to a safty interlock.
My house has a forced air furnace connected to the original 1899 ducts originally used for a gravity hot air furnace. It works fine.
The advantages are:
1- VERY easy maintainance
2-the house warms up quickly
The disadvantages are:
1-dryness (I disconnected the humidifier, for fear of what might be breeding inside the water reservoir)
2-the house cools off quickly when the furnace shuts off*
*this has been greatly improved by installing a modern digital thermostat–the c. 1965 electro- mechanical one didn’t shut off until the house was a couple of degrees above the temperature I set and required the inside temperature to go down a couple of degrees before switching the furnace back on; the newer one maintains a far more even temperature.
My parents have baseboard hydronic heating and it’s a lot nicer than my forced air. For one can heat in zones and when the heat turns off it still feels quite warm for a much longer afterward because of the hot water that’s still in the baseboard pipes. As Steaman has also mentioned, their house is not nearly as dry or as dusty as mine is either.
Baseboard heaters are wildly inefficient as well as unattractive (we used to have them). The drawback of forced air is that it’s dry and dusty and will blow mold all over the place — if mold should ever be a problem.
But if you already have it, why not keep it? Easier and will look better.
Also some on this board have said it’s easy to add central air if you already have forced air. (Will up your cooling bill, of course).
Baseboard sucks for many reasons however don’t take that to mean I am against hydronic heating. There is great flexibility and control available with hydronic heat and the boilers are fantastically efficient. Ducted (not duck) systems have their place but you will still need a boiler to make the hot water for your coils unless you use a heat pump which I would not recommend. The biggest thing I tell my clients to be aware of is the the “dryness” inherent in forced air heating. You absolutely should install a high quality humidifier or you will suffer health issues as well as home issues like dried out woodwork. Consider radiant heat as an option as well. And if you do go forced air be aware that you will most likely not be able to utilize the existing ducts. Also look into a energy recovery unit.
Good luck.
Agreed a 100%! Thanks…
I don’t know about efficiency, but baseboard heating completely loses in terms of aesthetics…especially in a space with architectural detail.
Worse yet, you can’t put furniture flush against a wall that has the baseboards.