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Electric Heating Baseboard Installation & Wiring Guide InspectAPedia®  -          How to wire electric baseboards & wall or floor mounted electric heaters How to locate & install electric baseboards safely - avoid electrical fires How to buy, install, inspect and diagnose each type of electric heat in buildings Electric heat choices, electric heat wiring and installation tips and safety suggestions How to estimate the amount of electric heating baseboard needed Questions & answers about electric baseboard heat installation, wiring, controls, fusing, & safety

Electric baseboard heat safety: Here we explain wiring and overcurrent protection for electric heaters and electric baseboards, followed by notes on the proper location for electric heating baseboards to avoid overheating or fires.

This website answers most questions about all types of heating systems and gives important inspection, safety, and repair advice. Methods for saving on heating cost and on improving heating safety are included. 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, we explain how to figure out the answer at HEATING SYSTEM TYPES. 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.

Wiring and Overcurrent Protection for Electric Heating Systems

The wiring sizes and overcurrent protection for electric heat must be correct for fire safety, as Carson Dunlop's sketch demonstrates.

Special electrical wire used for electric heating circuits is coded with red or orange plastic exterior sheathing and contains internal conductors colored black (hot) and red (hot) as well as a ground wire.

The sketch at above right handles a common electric heat wiring detail where this special electric heating wire has not been used. Since usually our electric heaters are 240V and require two hot wires, it's common for an electrician to run conventional 12-2 NM plastic electrical cable or BX armored cable to the heater.

In order to avoid confusion during future electrical work, the white wire of the black-and-white wire pair is wrapped with black electrical tape wherever its ends are exposed for wiring connections. This tells future electricians that this is a "hot" wire, not a neutral wire.

Overcurrent protection for electric heat: Electric 240V heaters also should be powered from circuit breakers using a common trip tie or fuses that are linked together - (we don't want just one leg of the circuit to be turned off or to trip off in an emergency).

Electric Baseboard Heat Installation Safety Details

Here are some suggested safety details to avoid a fire from electric baseboard heat. Sketches courtesy of Carson Dunlop.

As we discussed at Electrical Outlet, how to install, we don't place electrical outlets over or too close to the ends of electric baseboard heaters. (Sketch above at right).

Don't locate curtains or drapes over or in front of electric heaters. Keep drapes and curtains at least 8" above electric baseboards, and at least 3" in front of them. The reason for the 1" floor clearance is also to allow air to circulate. Circulating air both helps the heat to enter the occupied space and it also helps prevent the curtain from becoming too hot.

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Technical Reviewers & References

• InspectAPedia.com^® - Daniel Friedman - Publisher & Editor.
• InspectAPedia Bookstore lists recommended books, organized by topic & available for purchase. Most of our articles also include a list of recommended books for the specific article topic as well as other references, and information sources.
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
• Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
• Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education including the ASHI-adopted Home Inspection Training Program (home study course), publications such as the Home Reference Book, report writing materials including the Horizon report writer, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.

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 DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR
  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

How to Inspect Heating Systems

• Heating System Inspection & Repair Procedures for Oil-Fired Heating Boilers and Furnaces Detailed step by step approaches for inspecting complex systems] - this is our detailed heating system inspection course

How to Inspect Heating Systems

• Heating System Inspection & Repair Procedures for Oil-Fired Heating Boilers and Furnaces Detailed step by step approaches for inspecting complex systems] - this is our detailed heating system inspection course

Electric Heating System Inspection & Diagnosis Detailed Articles

• Air Duct Systems for Heating & Cooling - duct defects, inspections, repairs, duct cleaning, flooded ducts, leaky air ducts, moldy duct systems, indoor air quality
• Boiler Operating Problem Diagnosis examples of defects on hot water heating boiler systems and how to recognize them
• Blower Fan AUTO ON controls for air conditioning or heating blower fan units
• Carbon Monoxide Gas Toxicity, exposure limits, building inspection for CO hazards
• DIAGNOSE DARK STAINS on Indoor Surfaces, how to diagnose stains on walls, floors, carpets, and how to determine the stain source
• Ducts - Asbestos Transite Pipe
• DUST CONTAMINATION FROM HVAC? An Investigation of Indoor Dust Debris Blamed on a Heating/Cooling System Reveals Carpet Dust
• Fan AUTO ON controls for air conditioning or heating blower fan units
• FAN LIMIT SWITCH control on heating furnaces
• Furnaces, Heating Inspection, Diagnosis, & Repair - controls, diagnosis, inspection, repair, service of warm air heating systems
• Fuel Oil & Oil Heating Magazine, 3621 Hill Rd., Parsippany, NJ 07054, 973-331-9545
• Goodman Furnace High Temperature Plastic Vent HTPV safety recall US CPSC notice
• Heating Cost Reduction Advice: How to Save on Home Heating Costs - Book Review & Actual Heating Savings and Energy Savings Tips for homeowners and service technicians
• Heating System Inspection & Repair Procedures for Oil-Fired Heating Boilers and Furnaces Detailed step by step approaches for inspecting complex systems]
• Heating Loss Diagnosis: How to diagnose loss of heat, when the oil burner, boiler, or furnace won't run, or when the system runs but heat is not delivered to the living area
• Home Inspection Report Language Library: Defects in Oil Tank Installations, Tanks, and Heating Oil Piping
• How to Calculate Heat Loss in a Building
• Lennox Pulse Furnace Safety Inspection/Warranty Program: Carbon Monoxide Warning
• NO HEAT - Boiler & Furnace Diagnosis Guide - where to start in figuring out why the heating system is not working
• Odors From Heating Systems - a list of articles addressing the sources of odors produced by various types of heating systems - how to find, diagnose, and correct these possibly dangerous conditions.
• Radiant Heat Floor Mistakes to Avoid - don't let these foolish installation errors ruin your radiant heat floor system
• Plastic Heating Vent Pipe & Other Heating Safety Recall Notices
• Safety During Heating Inspections guide and tips
• STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS, how to diagnose stains on walls, floors, carpets, and how to determine the stain source
• Thermal Tracking & Stains & Signs of Heat Loss how to recognize thermal tracking or thermal bridging & how to diagnose Stains on Ceilings & Walls, Building Air Leaks & Insulation Defects, as well as other indoor air quality or building concerns

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

• Carbon Monoxide Gas Toxicity, exposure limits, poisoning symptoms, and inspecting buildings for CO hazards
• DUST CONTAMINATION FROM HVAC? An Investigation of Indoor Dust Debris Blamed on a Heating/Cooling System Reveals Carpet Dust
• Fuel Oil & Oil Heating Magazine, 3621 Hill Rd., Parsippany, NJ 07054, 973-331-9545
• Goodman Furnace High Temperature Plastic Vent HTPV safety recall US CPSC notice
• Home Heating System Should Be Checked [for proper venting and for CO Carbon Monoxide Hazards - DJF]
• Inspection Procedures for Oil-Fired Heating Systems Detailed step by step approaches for inspecting complex systems]
• Lennox Pulse Furnace Safety Inspection/Warranty Program: Carbon Monoxide Warning
• Oil Tanks - The Oil Storage Tank Information Website: Buried or Above Ground Oil Tank Inspection, Testing, Cleanup, Abandonment of Oil Tanks
• Oil Tanks Above Ground, UL Standards, guidance for home owners, buyers, and inspectors
• Plastic Heating Vent Pipe & Other Heating Safety Recall Notices
• Weil McLain Model GV Gas Boiler/gas valve CPSC recall/repair
• Domestic and Commercial Oil Burners, Charles H. Burkhardt, McGraw Hill Book Company, New York 3rd Ed 1969.
• National Fuel Gas Code (Z223.1) $16.00 and National Fuel Gas Code Handbook (Z223.2) $47.00 American Gas Association (A.G.A.), 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209 also available from National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269. Fundamentals of Gas Appliance Venting and Ventilation, 1985, American Gas Association Laboratories, Engineering Services Department. American Gas Association, 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209. Catalog #XHO585. Reprinted 1989.
• The Steam Book, 1984, Training and Education Department, Fluid Handling Division, ITT [probably out of print, possibly available from several home inspection supply companies] Fuel Oil and Oil Heat Magazine, October 1990, offers an update,
• Principles of Steam Heating, $13.25 includes postage. Fuel oil & Oil Heat Magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004.
• The Lost Art of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, 516-579-3046 FAX
• Principles of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, technical editor of Fuel Oil and Oil Heat magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004 ($12.+1.25 postage/handling).
• "Residential Steam Heating Systems", Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
• "Residential Hydronic (circulating hot water) Heating Systems", Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
• "Warm Air Heating Systems". Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
• Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Volume I, Heating Fundamentals,
• Boilers, Boiler Conversions, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23389-4 (v. 1) Volume II, Oil, Gas, and Coal Burners, Controls, Ducts, Piping, Valves, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23390-7 (v. 2) Volume III, Radiant Heating, Water Heaters, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Heat Pumps, Air Cleaners, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23383-5 (v. 3) or ISBN 0-672-23380-0 (set) Special Sales Director, Macmillan Publishing Co., 866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022. Macmillan Publishing Co., NY
• Installation Guide for Residential Hydronic Heating Systems
• Installation Guide #200, The Hydronics Institute, 35 Russo Place, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
• The ABC's of Retention Head Oil Burners, National Association of Oil Heat Service Managers, TM 115, National Old Timers' Association of the Energy Industry, PO Box 168, Mineola, NY 11501. (Excellent tips on spotting problems on oil-fired heating equipment. Booklet.)
• Links to our list of additional information on heating system inspection, repair, maintenance
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