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Guide to Water-to-Air Heating Fan Convectors: Inspection, Repair, Maintenance InspectAPedia®  -          How to identify, inspect, diagnose, and repair problems with hot water to air heating convectors - hydronic heating fan convectors & hydronic heating coils Guide to convector fan heaters and similar heat sources in buildings Freeze Proofing by adding water to air or electric fan convector heating units - convector fan heating Backup heat for heat pump systems using water to air hydronic heating coils Hydronic heating coils for backup heat or water to warm air heat conversion Questions & answers about heating convectors and water to air fan convector heating units, problem diagnosis & repair

Here we explain the identification, selection, diagnosis and repair of hydronic or steam heated convector fan heaters and similar water-to-air or steam-to-air heating devices such as ceiling, wall or floor mounted heating convectors and heating coils in heat pump air handlers and ductwork.

This article focuses on heating convectors heated by hot water from a heating boiler or heat pump. Hydronic heating convectors use hot water or steam from a separate boiler to heat a water-to-air heat exchanger coil mounted in the heating convector unit. A thermostat or manual switch operates a fan to blow room air across the heat exchanger coil to deliver heat where it is wanted.

Our photo above (at page top) shows a hydronic (hot water) heated wall-mounted fan convector heater in a New York City apartment. You can see dual blower fans at the bottom of the unit (the air intake port); Hot water piping from the building boiler is visible at the left edge of this convector heater. Also see ELECTRIC HEAT where we show a wide variety of electrically heated wall, floor, and kick space fan convector heating units.

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How Ceiling, Wall, or Floor Fan Convector Units or Hydronic Heating Coils Convert Hot Water Heat to Warm Air Heat

Fan convector heaters combine a heat source such as hot water piped through a heat exchanger coil and a fan to blow warm air into HVAC ductwork of a warm air heating system or to push warm air into a chilly spot such as a basement, crawl space or into a bathroom or kitchen where there may not be wall space for a conventional heating register radiator.

Fan Convector Heaters as Backup Heat for Heat Pumps

Fan convector heater units as a main building heat source or as a back up heat source where a heat pump is installed (combining air conditioning and heating).

As our photo of a hydronic heating coil (photo at left) shows, hot water heated by a hydronic heating boiler is used to warm air via a heat exchanger that is mounted in an air handler.

Pipes conduct hot water from the boiler to the heat exchanger and back to the boiler. The air handler blows building air from return registers and ducts into the air handler, across the heating coil, and on to supply ducts and registers.

We illustrate and discuss conventional heating convectors (units that work by "gravity" or warm air convection without the added output of an internal fan) at RADIATORS.

Fan Convector Heaters as Add-On Heat for Crawl Spaces, Basements, Garages

Used in crawl spaces, garages, basements, or other locations where additional heat is required or where we want to add heat to a previously un-heated area, ceiling, wall, or floor mounted fan convector heating units are a convenient way to push warm air heat into a chilly or un-heated area by converting hot water heat produced by a heating boiler to warm air heat provided by a fan convector unit.

Fan Convector Heaters as Add-On Heat for Freeze Protection in buildings

We often find an electric or hot water-heated convector unit mounted in crawl spaces or other building areas in freezing climates as a step to protect building plumbing from freeze-ups.

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

Additional Hot Water & Steam Heating System Inspection & Diagnosis Detailed Articles

Here is a partial list of technical articles on heating diagnosis and repair that may help with no-heat and radiator or baseboard problems:

• See links at page left for complete index to online articles on heating system inspection, diagnosis, repair
• BLUE vs YELLOW COMBUSTION FLAMES - the Blueray history and blue flame vs. yellow flame combustion, flame color & combustion efficiency, & how oil competes with gas as a heating fuel.
• Blueray Heating Boilers/Furnaces Safety Recall by the US CPSC, with additional history, photos, and technical details; Blue Flame Blue Ray
• Boiler Controls & Switches: a description of heating boiler controls and switches, what they do, how to set them, what problems to watch for
• Boiler Leaks, Corrosion, Stains: where to look for leaks on heating boilers, which leaks are important, dangerous, costly, & what to do about leaks at a heating boiler
• Boilers, Heating Inspection, Diagnosis, Repair - controls, diagnosis, inspection, repair, service of hot water heating systems
• Boiler Operation Details, 39 steps in how a heating boiler works
• Boiler Operating Problem Diagnosis examples of defects on hot water heating boiler systems and how to recognize them
• DIAGNOSE DARK STAINS on Indoor Surfaces, how to diagnose stains on walls, floors, carpets, and how to determine the stain source
• ELECTRIC HEAT installation, diagnosis, repair guide for baseboard heat, electric furnaces, electric boilers, etc.
• 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
• Hot Water Systems - Tankless Coils - on hydronic or steam boilers for making domestic hot water
• How to Calculate Heat Loss in a Building
• NO HEAT - Boiler & Furnace Diagnosis Guide - where to start in figuring out why the heating system is not working
• Radiant Heat Floor Mistakes to Avoid - don't let these foolish installation errors ruin your radiant heat floor system
• STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS, how to diagnose stains on walls, floors, carpets, and how to determine the stain source
• Steam Heating Systems - care & maintenance, controls, diagnosis, & repair, safety devices
• 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
• Water Feeder Valves automatic water makeup valves for hydronic boilers and steam boilers
• Weil McLain Model GV Gas Boiler/gas valve CPSC recall/repair

Questions & Answers regarding this article

Questions & answers about heating convectors and water to air fan convector heating units, problem diagnosis & repair

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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.
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• 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.

FAN CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS

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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