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Electric baseboard (C) Daniel Friedman

Electric Heating Baseboard Requirements Guide - How Many Feet of Baseboard Heater & Where to Locate Electric Baseboard Heaters
InspectAPedia®  -    

  • How to buy, install, inspect and diagnose each type of electric heat in buildings
  • How to determine the number of feet of electric baseboard needed in a room or home
  • Electric heat choices, electric heat wiring and installation tips and safety suggestions
  • How to save on electric heating costs
Our site offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest. We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices, false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at InspectAPedia.com/appointment.htm.

Here we discuss how to install and wire electric heating baseboards. This website answers most questions about all types of heating systems and gives important inspection, safety, and repair advice. Heating safety hazards such as carbon monoxide gas leaks, unsafe furnaces, furnace and boiler recalls are addressed. If you don't know what kind of heat your building uses, see our introduction at BOILERS, HEATING. Sketch at page top courtesy of Carson Dunlop.

© Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

How Many Linear Feet of Electric Baseboard Heat do we Need in a Building?

Electric heat capacity rules of thumb (C) Carson Dunlop

Here are some electric heat rules of thumb that will help you see if the electric baseboard already installed in your building will be sufficient. These guesstimates presume your building is located in a climate where there are real winters, not in southern states.

A larger room or a poorly-insulated building will need more watts of electric heat (and pay higher electrical bills). You need about 5-8 watts of electric heat per square foot of the room being heated.

As Carson Dunlop's sketch shows, you can figure that your electric baseboard is providing about 250 watts of electric heat per foot of baseboard length.

Where Should Electric Heaters be Located for Best Performance in a Building?

Location guide for electric heat placement (C) Carson Dunlop

As Carson Dunlop's sketch shows, we usually place electric baseboard heaters on an exterior wall.

Electric heat is also widely used to add a local source of heat in a problem area (such as a cold entry foyer) and where it would be more trouble and expense to add warm air or hot water or steam heat for that spot.

We also like to use small electric heat sources in closed crawl spaces and in spots where there is a risk of freezing pipes. (See our article on how to winterize and freeze-protect a building).

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Technical Reviewers & References

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ELECTRIC HEAT
  Types of Electric Heat
  Feet of Baseboard Heat Needed?
  Electric Heater Locations
  Wiring and Overcurrent Protection
  Electric Baseboard Heat Safety
  Staged Electric Furnaces
  Diagnose & Repair Electric Heat
  Test Electric Wall / Floor Heater

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02/25/2010 - 08/01/2008 - InspectAPedia.com/heat/Electric_Heat2.htm - © 2010 - 1988 Copyright Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved - InspectAPedia® is a Registered U.S. Trademark