We're looking at buying a 1961 home in Oregon. It has electric
baseboard heat. I've heard that it's expensive and doesn't heat the
house very well. Is this true? I don't want to buy a house and then buy
a new heating system.

Skyf

skyf wrote:
We're looking at buying a 1961 home in Oregon. It has electric
baseboard heat. I've heard that it's expensive and doesn't heat the
house very well. Is this true? I don't want to buy a house and then buy
a new heating system.

It heats very well. It is expensive to run, but if you're in an area with
lots of hydro power its probably not much worse than natural gas or oil
at their current prices.

"skyf" wrote:

We're looking at buying a 1961 home in Oregon. It has electric
baseboard heat. I've heard that it's expensive and doesn't heat the
house very well. Is this true? I don't want to buy a house and then buy
a new heating system.


Electric heat has traditionaly been the most expensive way to heat a home in the
US. That has balanced somewhat by the savings from the appliances themselves
over the first few years, but over the long term its more expensive to operate.

Now, this winter may be the exception to the rule.

It also has a slower reaction time to sudden changes in temperature (like a door
opening), as would any form of radiant heating.

That said, BTUs are BTUs. They will heat as well as any other form of heat, but
you may find cold spots in rooms as there is no circulating fans.

As long as I wasn't in an extreme northern clime, or could build with isolated
entryways, I would prefer radient heating for the lack of fan noise and the
warmer floors.

In relatively mild climates where you don't need much heating, electric
baseboards would be fine. Electric baseboards where you need 4 or more months of
heating? No...

"skyf" wrote in message
ups.com...
We're looking at buying a 1961 home in Oregon. It has electric
baseboard heat. I've heard that it's expensive and doesn't heat the
house very well. Is this true? I don't want to buy a house and then buy
a new heating system.

Skyf

The quality of the heat with electric baseboards is excellent. It's fast,
easy to control (thermostats in every room), clean and there are no drafts.
Not much maintenance either. Clean the units with the vacuum and check the
thermostats and you're done.

But it is less efficient than gas or a heat pump and can be costly depending
upon your electric utility. I have electric baseboard heat in a condo in
western NY state and qualify for a special rate; but electricity is still
expensive there ($.14 -- $.16/kWh). But, considering the expense of
converting to gas, I'm better off adding insulation and weather stripping
especially since gas prices have doubled in the area this year.

TKM