WEBlue

This is my first time living with what they seem to call baseboard heating, and I'm having trouble with the husband's idea of where furniture should go, especially in the winter.... So do those of you in northern areas who have baseboard heat: do you try not to have furniture aligned along the baseboard walls? (Oh and before anyone asks, we have extremely low ceilings--possibly a New England 'thing'--so no room for ceiling fans to better circulate the heat....)

Baseboard walls tend to be the outer house walls--at least in our house--and because this is an oldish house with oddly-sized and -configured rooms, we're finding it difficult to keep the larger pieces of furniture (bookcases, sofa, taller bureau, bed, etc. against the other non-baseboard walls. We have a LOT of family guests coming & going, so we have more of these big items than some may, & all the rooms are a bit over-crowded.

The husband, who has previously lived with baseboard heat but can't remember how this problem was solved in that house, says just pull the larger pieces well away from the wall in the winter, so we've done that, but this house still seems bl##dy cold! I think we've got too much furniture along those walls, & need to massively rearrange, which he's (of course) reluctant to do....

Pulaski

Baseboard heat is fairly common in older houses down here too, and it is always installed along external walls IME. Just like radiators, the theory is that warm air will circulate upwards, across the ceiling, and then down internal walls and back across the floor.

Personally I would keep large pieces of furniture away from the baseboard heaters, completely if possible, otherwise leave at least 6" up the back of a chest or bookcase.

scrubbedexpat091

Baseboards are very common where we are in Canada in condos anf apartments even new builds and is all I have had since living here.


Keep furniture away from them otherwise you may get cold. And certainly if you have to place furniture in front do as Pulaski says and keep space.

I hate the things but they are the cheapest heating option for developers so they love them.

Pulaski

Further to above, I wouldn't put anything in front of baseboard heater if it sits flat on the ground, or is very low, or has a skirt, like some sofas. Something with legs, at least 3"-4", that allows air to be drawn underneath, would be less of an issue.

WEBlue

Yes! Thank you both for confirming my (eminently sensible, IMO) POV on this. I need to show this thread to the husband.

I don't mind baseboards heating at all. I have my computer setup on a table that's not blocking but is very close to the baseboard, and I love the heat close to my feet.

Though I do wonder how this type of hot-water heating compares in efficiency & efficacy with the radiators common in the UK.... It certainly seems easier to keep the furniture away from the one or two radiators per room typical in a British house!

WEBlue

Yes, I can see this. An simple table or a non-upholstered wooden chair will let the warmed air circulate through.... Unfortunately, we have some large solid-to-floor objects set up along the baseboard walls--filing cabinet, large bookcase with closed back down to the floor, a couple of beds not on legs (box springs on the floor), loveseat with heavy skirt, etc. Not good for heat escape.

Pulaski

I see you have a plumbed hot water system, I had assumed it was electrical. .... It may be possible to replumb your heating system to feed radiators rather than baseboard heaters. Obviously it wouldn't be a quick fix, but perhaps something to consider next spring with a view to having it done during the summer.

WEBlue

Oh yes, hot water pipes are inside the baseboards. I've not seen the electric kind here.

I'd hazard a guess that many/most houses in our area are heated with hot water. There ARE some houses with British-style radiators, but they tend to be the really old ones that haven't been modernized.... Late nineteenth century places, or ones built in the early decades of the 1900s. I think people here think they're old-fashioned.

I'm happy with the baseboards, for the most part, just not at all happy with the husband's determination to shove big furniture against them. I need to get to work rearranging a few rooms while he's away next week. In the meantime I've pulled a lot of those items out as far as I can. I'm tired of our house guests complaining, or, worse yet, pushing the heat up on their own....

Bob

They're shite, but what can you do.

The other thing about keeping furniture away from the things would be to prevent the wood from warping, which can happen on nice furniture.

Best thing to do to help with the heat is have a humidifier in the room.

Oh and for what it's worth, we also have our couches in front of the things because we don't have room to put them anywhere else and it really doesn't make that much difference.

Sealing up the windows to kill the draft makes the most difference to not feeling the cold. Those foam strips, stick them along the storm windows because those things tend to have gaps around the inside, especially on the corners and then use those strips on the inside of the window frame, though they're best if lined up around the window sill but not as nice to look at but they do peel off easily enough so you could take them off in the spring.

tuxedocat

Baseboard heating is a FORTUNE. I really recommend buying 2 electric oil filled radiant heaters and using one for your bedroom and one for your living room. Buy a fleece blanket and a sleeping bag that will lay flat when open for your bed. I keep a sherpa lined hoodie on when I'm awake.

WEBlue

Good tips, thanks!

I guess our trouble was that our bedrooms were so chock-a-block with furniture that it's not just a matter of blocking one section of the baseboard heat, but blocking MOST of it...which works fine in the summer, but not so great in the winter.

Not that a cold bedroom was ever a big problem for the other half and me.... we like it cold for sleeping. But anyone who comes to stay with us in the colder months tends to think the guest room is a bit of an icebox.

I've already done a big rearrangement in that guest bedroom--the one most visitors use--and today I'm working on our own bedroom. (When the husband leaves for his conference I'll attack the lounge but I've got to go slow right now, as he's averse to change, & what I'm doing is making him nervous. ) It's a lot of work but I think it's made a difference in heat flow already.

Yes, we've done some of our windows already, but we really need to work on a more thorough seal of all window cracks. We have unfortunately no storm windows--just double-glazed (& screens). At least we've got good heavy curtains for most.

scrubbedexpat091

I honestly dont find it pricey just inefficient.

Our winter electric bill is on average $5 more per month. $40 month summer avg vs $45 month winter avg.

tuxedocat

That is great! Around here it's hundreds per month and that is being careful with it.

Rete

Frankly, I prefer to pay the cost of heating my home sufficiently than to sleeping in the outdoors which is how you describe your sleeping arrangement. If I ever had to walk about my home with a Sherpa lined hoodie, then it would mean that our heating unit was malfunctioning and I would have it repaired.

WEBlue do you have a basement? If so, perhaps you might want to invest in a pellet stove and then have vents put in that will allow the heat to rise up to the living room for additional warmth. This was quite successful for a friend in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Cut her heating bill (radiator heat) quite a lot. She has now converted to gas furance from oil and has even more in savings. Some of the cost was absorbed by the utility company. Her home is a small cottage built in 1908.

WEBlue

Good advice! Though our gas bills haven't been bad at all. But I'm worried that may change if we have more visitors. Some are just fine with our generally "cool" house temps, but some are from warmer climes & they complain.

I also do that hoodie thing all winter long, and our supply of duvets is adequate I think. I even have old fleece hoodies/jackets/vests in different sizes to lend out, & extra old jumpers in many sizes, plus warm shawls, socks, blankets for the sofa, etc. But I hate people being uncomfortable. We have an elderly family member coming for Christmas, and I want to make sure she's not shivering.