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I've had both electric and gas furnaces BUT in much larger houses with kids still at home at those times, now nest is empty and I live alone so cannot compare the costs based upon my past experiences as the house I've just bought (won't move in until April) is much smaller, I'll be living there alone, and I keep my thermostat a lot lower than I did when kids were home (65 vs 72).
The last house wherein I had gas heat, it had what looked like baseboard heat (shaped/appearance wise) "radiators" along the floor, long, rectangular and one could hear water in them just like the old steam radiators I grew up with. It was called "forced air" but there was this water aspect to it I never understood, there was water being heated somehow as part of the process.
The house I have now has the more common smaller vents for heat, rather than the long rectangular, electric baseboard resembling things I abovemention, and no water sound so to me this is more of a true "forced air" system than the one I formerly had, with no water feature integral to it.
It seems to work great (furnace is newish), I've been keeping the thermostat at 55 (as am not yet living there) and the place seems actually comfortable at that temp when I go over to do work.
Am curious as to opinions on the different types, and what folks like about one vs the other.
The last house wherein I had gas heat, it had what looked like baseboard heat (shaped/appearance wise) "radiators" along the floor,
long, rectangular and one could hear water in them just like the old steam radiators I grew up with.
It was called...
It's called "forced hot water" (from a boiler with a pump).
^^That's the most comfortable choice to be made.
If you live where AC is needed... a forced air system with ductwork is most practical (to not duplicate)
As to the fuel used... If you have natural gas available... USE IT!!
(furnace/boiler, water heater, dryer, stove, grill on the deck. everything)
It's called "forced hot water" (from a boiler with a pump).
^^That's the most comfortable choice to be made.
If you live where AC is needed... a forced air system with ductwork is most practical (to not duplicate)
As to the fuel used... If you have natural gas available... USE IT!!
(furnace/boiler, water heater, dryer, stove, grill on the deck. everything)
It may've had a boiler part to it? It was gas fueled, not oil, and looked like a regular gas forced air, modern-ish furnace, not the old timey boilers I grew up with. I thought it was odd for sure.
This new joint has a new-ish gas furnace like I said and water heater too, which I've only had a gas water heater once before (had electric in all other houses), it made me nervous because pilot light (I was scared to have to relight it if it went out; fire is a phobia of mine) but this one is the electric ignition type so no pilot light so that's cool.
I'm a frugal tightwad and always turn off breaker to my electric water heaters off, only on for 2h/day (or less some days; maybe 45min on depending on need; this dropped my bill by $15/mo in my apartment I'm currently in by example) which is enough to shower/do dishes, but no way to do this with the gas water heater so I'm thinking it may cost me more as it'll be "on" 24/7.
Well, you are mixing up several different aspects.
1) Fuel. Currently in the US, heating apparatus (whether house heating or water heating) is most commonly natural gas, oil, or electric. At the present time, in most locations, the lowest cost for heating fuel is natural gas, and the highest cost is usually electric. Think about it; you're setting something on fire in any case; either you set gas or oil on fire in your home system, or the electric company sets gas oil or coal on fire in their system and then you pay for its transmission hundreds or thousands of miles.
With electric there's two main versions: regular resistance heating, or a heat pump which is an AC system run in reverse. I don't know if there are heat pump heating systems in common use that are not paired with an AC.
2) Heat transfer mechanism to the rooms of the house. Currently in the US, heat transfer is achieved in any number of ways:
- Forced hot water through radiators, usually located along the baseboards - usually fueled by natural gas or oil, though I suppose there are electric systems.
- Steam heat where water is boiled and the steam is piped to radiators, where it condenses and runs back to the boiler in the same pipe. Usually fueled by gas or oil.
- Forced hot air through ductwork and blowers, where the air is usually heated by natural gas or electric, said electric being resistance heaters or heat pump (heat pump heat isn't that effective at low outside temps, so they usually have electric resistance heaters for supplemental heat - when those kick on you the power draw goes way up). I suppose there are oil fired forced air systems, but I don't think they're common. Forced air heating is usually paired with an AC system, but it doesn't have to be.
3) Water heating, which can be done by electric, or gas, or if you have an oil system it's part of that system. Can be completely separate from the system for heating rooms, or a single furnace can do both.
This is just a beginning, there is enough material there for an entire conference. Best thing is to start with the fuel that's available (gas on the street? Are you up North where oil heat is common, or down South where it's rare?) and the physical constraints of the house, and then study up on the best approach. Capital investment also plays into it, especially if you're thinking of doing something that's not standard for the area.
rectangular and one could hear water in them just like the old steam radiators I grew up with.
Hot water baseboard is usually pretty quiet, the pumps are slow so the water is not moving fast like it would through faucet. They aren't perfectly quiet but if you are getting any noise it's usually because there is air in the lines.
Any type of fuel can be hot water or forced air. Most people prefer hot water over air because it heats more evenly. In floor radiant heating being the top of the line. It's also more cleanly because you don't have to worry about what's growing inside your ductwork. One con is they take up more floor space, you can;t for example get a dresser right next to the wall. Another is it's expensive to install.
As far as electric Vs. Gas most people are going to prefer gas for the cost difference.
I've got gas fueled hot water baseboard heat and gas hot water as well. I'd hate to do without either of them. I also have a high efficiency heat pump as a backup heating/cooling system, which I had to use for heat when the gas boiler pump went out for a week. The difference in the quality of heat, for me, was dramatic, since I suffer from the cold. I got the repair guys in ASAP to fix the boiler pump so I could get back to my nice warm gas heat! I don't find the gas costs to be high at all, and I keep my thermostat very high (for most people). I like having gas hot water too because I always have hot water even if the power goes out, but I have a pilot light on my unit. I don't really worry about it going out; the previous unit never went out in 16 years.
If it was using water it was boiler. You can use boiler for forced air by installing a heat exchanger in the ducting but it's pushing hot air into the room. No practical way to use a furnace for hot water baseboard I'm aware of.
Boiler = Hot Water
Furnace = Hot Air, some people incorrectly refer to boiler as furnace.
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but no way to do this with the gas water heater so I'm thinking it may cost me more as it'll be "on" 24/7.
The heat loss on these is minimal, even with the electric the cost savings is minimal unless you have time of the day the rates are lower and only run it then. Make sure the two pipes coming of the heater are insulated, at least 3 feet. Ideally the hot water supply should be fully insulated it's entire length. there should also be a pressure relief valve on the the side, insulate that as well.
If it was installed wisely with valves above and below it then it's about a ten minute job to replace. 4 bolts. two gaskets and three wires. It's actually quite easy fix. If no valves you need to drain the system, another half hour to an hour.
Thanks guys, yes the baseboard apparatus must've been wee radiators, and yes I was told air in the lines, but no guys who came out and "bled" the lines ever made the water sound completely stop, so I lived with it until I sold it.
Gas seems to have a lot of fans, just these few replies all are for gas. I wonder if anyone prefers electric? Is gas always cheaper? Gas makes me nervous but I've had it in the different houses so I just deal with it.
@thecoalman, I've had insulation blankets wrapped around water heaters before, never thought to insulate the pipes coming from it but that makes total sense. I've been impressed by the difference to the monthly bill turning off the breaker made, with the electric water heaters; it feels like such a waste to have to leave the gas one "on" and heating water 24/7.
The vents aren't the flush to the floor type I've had before (in house with all electric heat/ac), they're against the wall/floor, so maybe they're the radiator type after all? The ones that were radiators in the other house looked much like electric baseboard heaters: low, long rectangles. Major pain for furniture placement btw. Here's a photo of the ones in this house:
(photo from Zillow listing; those ugly curtains are now down).
Last edited by VexedAndSolitary; 02-14-2020 at 08:24 AM..
If it was installed wisely with valves above and below it then it's about a ten minute job to replace. 4 bolts. two gaskets and three wires. It's actually quite easy fix. If no valves you need to drain the system, another half hour to an hour.
They didn't have that particular pump in stock. They also had to get me on the schedule - they knew I wasn't without heat since I had the heat pump, so I wasn't an "emergency" status for the pump replacement.
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