Electric heater vs Hydronic heater (Richmond: apartments, renting, condos)

[fashionguy]

Because of the nice weather in California uniquely you don't find central heating and AC that common in apartments and condos here. So in terms of Electric heater vs Hydronic heater, which one is better if I am just renting an apartment and don't have to install the system myself?

I would think that due to the low cost of installing electric ones and the electric bills you have to pay as a tenant, hydronic ones definitely have the better bang for the buck as a tenant, but some people say electric heaters heat much faster. Which one would you prefer?

[mayorhaggar]

Do you mean hydronic, and by that do you mean a hot water heater? A hot water heater connected to a central boiler is AMAZING for heat compared with a gas heater or an electric heater. I had them in Chicago where they are common--there the landlord would have a giant boiler in the building, and all the heaters would be connected to it, so you'd get heating for FREE all winter long. Having one in a room would keep it totally comfortable, but if you had a room that didn't have one it would be freezing compared to the other rooms. I've never seen any that were portable but maybe they exist. Central electric heat or gas heat in each room is ok if you're somewhere like California but a lot of apartments in the Bay Area are small and just have one tiny crappy heater in a weird part of the apartment, often in the hallway, where it doesn't really do you any good while adding quite a bit to your PG&E bill. A friend of mine in the Richmond District in SF had boiler heaters though which the landlord kept on year-round because it's so cold there.

[fashionguy]

Yes I am looking for a new apartment and different apartments provide different heating mechanisms and I am trying to find which one is better. I don't need them portable and I am not installing them. The landlord should have installed either. I just need some more information to factor this in. I've been in the Bay area for 2 years and I know that no matter what they say, it does get cold during the winter.

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

Do you mean hydronic, and by that do you mean a hot water heater? A hot water heater connected to a central boiler is AMAZING for heat compared with a gas heater or an electric heater. I had them in Chicago where they are common--there the landlord would have a giant boiler in the building, and all the heaters would be connected to it, so you'd get heating for FREE all winter long. Having one in a room would keep it totally comfortable, but if you had a room that didn't have one it would be freezing compared to the other rooms. I've never seen any that were portable but maybe they exist. Central electric heat or gas heat in each room is ok if you're somewhere like California but a lot of apartments in the Bay Area are small and just have one tiny crappy heater in a weird part of the apartment, often in the hallway, where it doesn't really do you any good while adding quite a bit to your PG&E bill. A friend of mine in the Richmond District in SF had boiler heaters though which the landlord kept on year-round because it's so cold there.

[mayorhaggar]

Believe me, I know, that's one of the things I hate about the Bay Area--it seems like most buildings have zero insulation and crappy heating, whether they're new or not. 40 at night is chilly, and it's like that from late November through at least March most years. Hot water heaters would be best but will be rare. Mostly you'll see crappy electric or gas heaters placed badly. Some kind of space heater will help.