Supplemental Electric Heat

[joetal17]

Turning to this forum again for advice. I know this has been discussed previously but I was looking for some updated recommendations.
We live in a 2400 square foot saltbox style home with bedrooms off a balcony over main living area. I heat as much as I can with a Lopi Freedom insert in the open room and the heat flows up to the second floor bedrooms off a main balcony. We also have an oil-fired hot air furnace that kicks on when the stove is not keeping the house at temperatue. There is only one zone.
I am looking for the best options to provide localized supplemental electric heat in the 2nd floor bedrooms/bathrooms overnight. We are having a ground mount solar system installed in May. I do not want to use space heaters.
Does anyone have experience with specific electric baseboards tied to a thermostat. The Envi heaters on www.eheat.com looked like a nice option but then I saw mixed reviews.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[Highbeam]

Many many homes use baseboard heat and/or built in wall heaters that operate off of dedicated thermostats in each room or area. All of these are 100% efficient so just go to home depot and buy one. Wire with 240 and you're done. They cost nothing unless you use them and require zero maintenance. My home is equipped with wall heaters like this and I haven't run them for years but if I had to, they would work.

 

[Clarkbug]

What about a mini split system with a hyper heat option? Lots more expensive than baseboard, but you would gain AC in the bedroom for the summer....

 

[DougA]

I've got baseboard heaters, wall mount heaters as well as split systems. Baseboards are dirt cheap but you need to wire most of them for 220v which may or may not be easy and/or cheap. If you have to add to your service panel, the cost could be high. Both smaller baseboard units and some wall mount units are sold as 120v and slightly more expensive to run but much cheaper if you had to put in a new panel. I use the wall mount units with a fan where space is limited. I find fans too noisy myself. I've got some baseboards with wall mount thermostats but the bedroom ones have the thermostat on the unit and it's just as effective. The only advantage to wall mount is that you can buy a timer/thermostat and have it on only at night. We have most of ours turned to the very minimum as we like cooler bedrooms.

Splits a great for cooling and heating but are not great when it is super cold out. They are whisper quiet but expensive to install. I installed one myself I got off ebay and it was reasonably easy but you still need someone to come in and evacuate the system and charge it with refrigerant. Even then, you'll probably need 220v to power it. I'd count on a life span of 12 yrs. before you need service or replacement.

The advantage of baseboard heaters are that they are very cheap, last forever and provide a soft, draft free heat. Very expensive to run but if you are in an area like mine that's on time of use pricing, the cost of hydro at night is not so bad compared to daytime.

 

[sesmith]

I put a kickspace electric heater under the vanity in my upstairs bath (240V) and tied it into a tstat. We rarely use it, but when when needed, it warms up the bathroom quickly. Turn it on, hop into the shower, and the room's up to temp before you get out.

 

[moey]

They have hydronic baseboard electric heat they are a bit more pricey but nice.

 

[begreen]

The Envi heaters look ok as long as low wattage heat is all that's needed. If the main need is a chill chaser they look pretty good and the price is good.

 

[Wisneaky]

You can find much lower priced baseboard heaters at Amazon.com or check Home depot, Lowes, or Menards if you have one in your area. I paid under $40 for mine and the thermostat was less than $15

 

[jebatty]

Our house is heated with a wood stove in the living room, baseboard electric in all bedrooms and kickspace electric in the bathroom. The baseboards each have a separate thermostat and generally we do not heat the bedrooms, they stay cool, which is good for sleeping, but heat is there if needed. The kickspace is on a timer, one hour max, usually used for about 15 minutes when needed to heat the bathroom. Also baseboard in main living area for backup heat when we are gone and no wood stove heat available.

 

[begreen]

If I was putting in something permanent in a bedroom I would consider the Envi units as well as a water-filled, hydronic baseboard heater like Hydrotherm. I'd like to know how hot the Envi units get to the touch, but with their low wattage, maybe not too hot.

Conventional baseboard heaters have a higher fire risk if curtains or fabric inadvertently get draped over them. Or if young ones like to stuff small things in the top vent. Conventional units also frequently get hotter to the touch. This could be important if there are toddlers present.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_31354-33978-HB-6-A_0__?productId=3133903

In the bathroom I'd put in a good quality heated towel rack. Safe, low wattage and has the added benefit of warming towels. It can be put on a timer and/or thermostat if desired.

 

[woodgeek]

If you are worried about fire risk, you can get radiant 'cove heaters' that sit near the ceiling... http://www.radiantsystemsinc.com/

 

[joetal17]

Thank you for replies. We could have done mini splits with our solar package but they are expensive up front (we already added Hot Water Heat Pump) and I do not like the look of them through the walls in three separate rooms. We already have central air.
I will look into the Hydrotherms as we have a one-year-old and another on the way. The Envis may be too enticing for them to play with although they supposedly are safe to touch. I will ask our friend an electrician to price out the wiring. I believe we should have enough solar capacity to add the baseboards.
I see a lot of different brands of they Hydronic baseboard heaters. Anyone have any experience with a particular brand? Looks like Fahrenheat and Hydrotherms are Made in USA.

 

[Highbeam]

The wiring to standard wall heaters or baseboard is just regular 12/2 Rolex on a 20 amp double pole breaker. Just like your wall outlets but on dedicated circuits.

They have protective grills to make them safe. Just use a regular pick-a-watt from home depot and move on with life.