Baseboard Heating Pros and Cons?

[Drover]

Since you mention age of the home, I presume the baseboard heating systems are boiler systems rather than electric. The overall advantages of hot-water heating are better heating efficiency, plus some hot-water systems allow some venting of the steam into the house to help humidify the air so it doesn't get so dry. The main advantage of baseboard heating versus stand-up radiators is they don't take up floor space. You're also less likely to come into contact with a baseboard radiator and burn yourself. Finally, forced-air systems blow dust all over the house; it's nice to not have to dust your house every other day all winter.

The main reason most modern homes have forced-air heating isn't because it's inherently superior in any way. It's just cheaper to build a home with a single HVAC system for both heating and A/C than to install separate systems for cooling and for heating. Heated floors are the way to go but those systems are pretty pricey.

[WriterDude]

Originally Posted by Drover

The main reason most modern homes have forced-air heating isn't because it's inherently superior in any way. It's just cheaper to build a home with a single HVAC system for both heating and A/C than to install separate systems for cooling and for heating. Heated floors are the way to go but those systems are pretty pricey.

Thank you for the post. This is good information.

Yeah, I did some research about heated floors (and radiant wall-mounted heating systems), and they were all going bananas about efficiency.

Interestingly, there are two different things about in-floor heating. One is that if you put it between the foundation and the flooring, it has to operate at a higher temperature. The other is that if you put it into the foundation concrete, you get much better heating performance, because the foundation is more dense.

[yakimono]

Don't the in-floor heating systems take forever to heat up and cool down? I like the speed of forced air (if not much else about it).

[WriterDude]

Originally Posted by yakimono

Don't the in-floor heating systems take forever to heat up and cool down? I like the speed of forced air (if not much else about it).

From what I've read, that's actually one of the selling points. They're consistent, as opposed to forced air, which lasts only as long as the air can hold the heat (not long).

I've always been a little skeptical about in-floor heating systems, because it seems that they'd be prone to wear (heat up, expand, cool down, contract, repeat several times per day every day for years), and "fixing" a problem would require demolishing the floor and reinstalling.

Does anyone have any information (even anecdotal) about how long the in-floor systems last?